


Love With The Doctor

by I_msorrymylove



Series: The Kayla Hark series [3]
Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-09-13 21:10:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 35
Words: 155,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16899885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_msorrymylove/pseuds/I_msorrymylove
Summary: Kayla Hark is pregnant, grumpy, and getting bored with being stuck in the TARDIS, but when disaster strikes on board a sky ship, will the brunette wish she had stayed inside like the Doctor and Martha had wanted? Third in the Kayla Hark Series.





	1. Runaway Bride Pt. 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a copy of the same work on my fanfiction net account.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own anything of Doctor Who; all rights go to the respective owners.

**Hello and welcome to the third story in my Kayla Hark Series, Love With The Doctor.**

_'This is mental speaking'_

* * *

Ever since Kayla had announced her pregnancy, Kayla had taken to wearing dresses. It was less constricting on her stomach that had, after about a month and a few weeks after the announcement, started to grow just a tiny bit. She had also started to roam the TARDIS. The Doctor had, annoyingly, decided that they shouldn’t go on many adventures.

So today, Kayla was wearing a black dress that was a bit tighter than the last time she wore it, and had somehow wondered into the console room. "What are you doing?" she asked to the general direction of where she believed the Doctor to be. Because for no reason apparent to Kayla, the Time Lord was under the gridding of the TARDIS and banging around.

"I'm trying to do something." The Doctor answered as a spark flew up from the floor.

Kayla arched an eyebrow, "And what is that you're trying to do?" she prompted.

Not answering, the Doctor popped up from the floor and ran to the console, "One second, I just need to take the shields down for a few minutes..." his voice trailing away as his concentration left the conversation, the Doctor fiddled with some buttons and levers, made a happy shout, and disappeared under the floor. This meant that Kayla was the only one who heard the noise behind her, and that meant she was the one to turn around and see a slightly older ginger woman in a wedding dress. Her apparel, of course, reminded Kayla that she and the Doctor still had to get married since her father was dead, but this thought was not the most important one to the brunette. Instead, the Time Lady was trying to figure out why there was a stranger in the TARDIS.

Thankfully, she did not have to call this fact out, because at that moment, the woman gave a yelp and the Doctor stuck his head out from under the TARDIS. “What??” he gasped, aghast.

The woman stared at Kayla and then at the Doctor. “Who are you?” the woman demanded.

The Doctor shook his head, still horrified at this sudden intrusion, “But—

“Where am I?” the woman asked.

“What??” the Doctor protested again.

The woman stomped her foot, “What the hell is this place?”

“What??!” the Doctor repeated.

Kayla sighed, “You’re in the TARDIS,” she informed the stunned ginger woman.

“The what?” the woman questioned.

“The TARDIS.” Kayla repeated.

The woman stared at the brunette, “The what?”

“The TARDIS!” the Doctor shouted suddenly, “And how did you get in here? We're in flight, and that means it’s physically impossible to get in here.”

Raising an eyebrow at the Doctor, the ginger woman seemed to deem him unimportant and turned back to Kayla, “The what??” she repeated.

Kayla ran a hand through her hair, “It's called the TARDIS.” she tried to explain in a calm voice.

The ginger woman rolled her eyes, “That's not even a proper word. You're just saying things.”

“How did you get in here?” the Doctor cut in, frowning at the woman.

At this question, the woman nearly started to blow steam out of her ears. “Well, obviously, when you kidnapped me. Who was it? Who's paying you? Is it Nerys? Oh, my God, she's finally got me back. This has got Nerys written all over it.”

Exchanging a completely baffled look with Kayla, the Doctor looked the mental woman up and down. “Who the hell is Nerys?” he asked.

The woman stomped her foot once more. “Your best friend.” She answered in a dry voice.

Kayla shook her head. “We’ve never heard of someone named Nerys.” She protested.

The woman rolled her eyes, “Of course you’ve heard of her! Are you two actors she hired?”

“Hold on, wait a minute -- what're you dressed like that for?” the Doctor interrupted suddenly.

“I'm going ten pin bowling.” The woman bit sarcastically, “Why do you think, Dumbo? I was halfway up the aisle!”

At this shout, Kayla stepped backwards until she was at the console. Not turning her back on her, which was what the Doctor had done, Kayla chose to just watch the ginger rant at the Doctor. It was quite entertaining.

“I've been waiting all my life for this. I was just seconds away! And then you-- I dunno, you drugged me or something!” the woman yelled at the Doctor.

Turning away from the console, the Doctor sent Kayla a cry for help through their mental link but she decided to ignore it. Huffing, the Doctor decided to just claim his innocence. “I haven't done anything!” he protested.

The ginger seemed to not have heard his protest. “We're having the police on you! Me and my husband -- as soon as he is my husband -- we're gonna sue the living backside off ya!”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, the Doctor turned back to the console and started to try and figure out _how_ the woman got into the TARDIS. Meanwhile, Kayla was watching the ginger look around the TARDIS in shock.

“I know, it’s a bit much-“ Kayla started, but then stopped as the woman suddenly noticed the door and hurried towards it. “Wait, stop!” she shouted after the ginger as she ran after her.

“No, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Don't--!” the Doctor cried out, now also running after the ginger.

But they were too late. Just as the Doctor reached the door with Kayla trailing behind him, the woman flung open the doors and gaped at the sight of the empty space outside of the TARDIS. “You're in space. Outer Space. This is our...space-ship. It's called the 'TARDIS.’” the Time Lord explained to the awestruck woman.

“How am I breathing?” the woman gasped.

Kayla sighed, “The TARDIS is protecting us.”

The ginger turned away a bit from the sight, “Who are you two?”

The Doctor smiled a bit, “I’m the Doctor and this is my Kayla.” He introduced, wrapping an arm around Kayla’s waist as he did so.

“Donna.” Donna replied.

Kayla nodded, “Human or humanoid?”

Donna blinked, “Human…is that optional.”

Kayla shrugged, “It is for us.” She replied, indicating herself and the Doctor.

Donna’s mouth fell open, “You two are aliens.”

“Yeah.” The Doctor replied with a shrug. “Well, there are actually three aliens on board the TARDIS right now.”

Her eyes widening, Donna looked over at Kayla, “Seriously? You’re thin. Are you one of those that don’t put on weight.” Before the baffled and irritated Kayla could answer, Donna sighed and rubbed at her sleeveless arms, “It's freezing with these doors open.” She remarked.

Closing the doors, the Doctor gave Kayla a sheepish smile, only to get a glare in return. Perhaps he shouldn’t have told the strange Donna lady about Kayla being pregnant, but he was just so excited about it!

Shaking his head to dispel of the musings, the Doctor decided to put his pent of energy into something useful. Like verbally working out how Donna had gotten into the TARDIS. “But I don't understand it and I understand everything! This-- this can't happen! There is no way a Human Being can lock itself onto the TARDIS and transport itself inside. It must be...” grabbing something to look into the ginger’s eyes, the Doctor leaned in closer to study Donna, “Impossible. Some sort of subatomic connection? Something in the temporal field? Maybe something pulling you into alignment with the Chronon shell. Maybe something macro mining your DNA within the interior matrix. Maybe a genetic—“

Her mouth falling open, Donna raised her palm and _slapped_ the Doctor across the cheek.

“Hey now!” Kayla protested at the same time of the Doctor’s indigent cry of, “What was that for??”

“Get me to the church!” Donna cried out.

The Doctor threw up his hands and turned away, growling, “Right! Fine! I don't want you here anyway! Where is this wedding?”

Donna came up closer to the Doctor. “Saint Mary's, Hayden Road, Chiswick, London, England, Earth, the Solar System.” Turning away, Donna focused in on Kayla and headed towards her.

“Did he abduct you too?” the ginger asked it what _could_ have been a low voice if Donna wasn’t so loud naturally.

Kayla blinked at the question, unsure of how to respond. “No…?”

“It’s alright, you can tell me if he’s-“

Shaking her head, Kayla turned away from Donna and started to pilot the Doctor with him. And also speaking to him through their mental link. _‘How do we get rid of her?’_

_‘Let’s just drop her off and leave before she turns around.’_

Giving the Doctor a grin at his suggestion, the two set about working on dropping their annoying and unwanted guest.

“Right! Chiswick.” The Doctor announced when they had arrived. Grabbing Kayla’s hand, he pulled her with him to the doors.

* * *

The three stared at the busy street around them. There was obviously no church around them, and that made Kayla groan and rub at her forehead as Donna cried out, “I said 'Saint Mary's.’ What sort of Martian are you? Where's this?”

Turning towards the TARDIS, the Doctor started to stroke the blue box. “Something's wrong with her...” he muttered, missing Donna roll her eyes and glare at Kayla, “It's like she's...recalibrating!” Rushing back into the TARDIS, the Doctor started to fiddle around with the console.

“She must be digesting, then.” Kayla noted as she stepped into the TARDIS and followed the Doctor.

Nodding, the Doctor placed a hand on the rotor, “What have you eaten? What's wrong?” he asked.

“Donna, can you tell us if you know anything that might have caused this?” Kayla called, pulling a monitor around and reading something.

“Anything you might've done? Any sort of alien contacts? I can't let you go wandering off in case you're dangerous. I mean, have you...have you seen lights in the sky? Or...did you touch something? Something-- something different? Something strange? Something made out of a sort of metal or...who're you getting married to?” the Doctor continued.

Kayla typed Donna’s name into the console. “Are you sure he's human? He's not a bit overweight with a zip around his forehead, is he?” she called over her shoulder.

It was then that Donna made a loud yelping noise and the Doctor turned around and hurried towards her, Kayla right behind him. “Donna.” The Doctor started.

“Leave me alone. I just want to get married.” Donna demanded, looking terrified.

The Doctor sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of what to say. “Come back to the TARDIS.” Kayla put in.

Donna quickly shook her head, “No way. That box is too...weird.”

“It's...bigger on the inside, that's all.” The Doctor tried to explain. Next to him, Kayla sighed.

Donna rolled her eyes, “Oh! That's all?” sighing dramatically, she checked her watch, “Ten past three. I'm gonna miss it.”

“You can phone them. Tell them where you are.” Kayla pointed out.

The ginger fixed the brunette with an exasperated look, “How do I do that?”

Before Kayla could offer her vortex manipulator or the TARDIS itself, the Doctor helpfully asked, “Haven't you got a mobile?”

Her eyes widening, Donna stared at the Doctor. “I'm in my wedding dress. It doesn't have pockets. Who has pockets? Have you ever seen a bride with pockets? When I went to my fitting, do you think I said ‘Alison, the one thing I forgot to say is give me pockets?!’”

Having stumbled back a bit, the Doctor blinked at Donna. “....This man you're marrying -- what's his name?” the Time Lord asked carefully.

“Lance.” Donna cooed, suddenly happy and sweet.

“Good luck to Lance, then.” Kayla muttered to the Doctor.

Hearing this, Donna glared at the couple, “Oi! No two stupid Martians are gonna stop me from getting married. To hell with the both of you!” with that final cry, she ran off, hoisting her dress up so she didn’t trip over it.

The Doctor stared at the spot where Donna had been standing and then at Kayla. “We’re – We’re not….We’re not…We’re not from Mars.” He stammered out.

Kayla pat his shoulder with a sympathetic expression on her face, “I know dear.”

Sighing, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and the two ran after the still visible ginger.

 

Having _finally_ caught up with Donna, the threesome tried in vain to catch a taxi. However the taxies either ignored them or yelled rude comments at Donna. Such comments as, ‘Stay off the scotch darlin’,’ and, ‘You're fooling no-one, mate!’

It wasn’t until the Doctor held up his hands and said, “Hold on, hold on,” that Donna finally stopped running in front of taxies and physically stopping them. Getting back onto the street, Donna glared at the Doctor.

“What? I nearly got that one!” she protested at the interruption.

Sighing, Kayla ignored the ginger and nodded to the Doctor before the brunette typed a few things into her Vortex Manipulator and then smiled. “A taxi will be here in a few moments.” She stated.

Donna stared at Kayla. “How did you do that?”

Kayla pointed to the VM on her arm. “Magic.”

“But magic isn’t real…is it?” Looking very confused on this matter, Donna mused over this while the Doctor and Kayla waited for the taxi.

* * *

When it finally arrived, the Doctor ushered Kayla in first, then himself, and then Donna squeezed in with her huge dress. “Saint Mary's in Chiswick, just off Hayden Road. It's an emergency, I'm getting married! Just...hurry up!” Donna ordered.

At the instructions, the taxi driver started his car and pulled out into traffic. “You know it'll cost you, sweetheart? Double rates today.” He commented.

Donna gasped. “Oh, my God!” turning towards the Doctor and Kayla, she hissed very loudly, “Have you got any money?”

The Doctor blinked and glanced towards Kayla, who shook her head. “Um...no. And you?”

Donna snorted. “Pockets!”

Overhearing their conversation, the taxi driver slammed on the brakes and kicked Kayla, the Doctor, and Donna out. Donna was not pleased with this. “And that goes double for your mother!” the ginger yelled at the driver as the taxi drove off.

“I'll have him. I've got his number. I'll have him. Talk about the Christmas Spirit.” She grumbled, crossing her arms and glaring at the now long-gone taxi.

Looking around, the Doctor spotted several ‘Christmas Sale’ signs. Nevertheless, he asked, “Is it Christmas?”

Donna turned to stare at him in shock, “Well, duh. Maybe not on Mars, but here it's Christmas Eve.” Whacking him on the arm, she suddenly rushed off, crying out, “Phone box,” over her shoulder.

Rubbing at his arm, the Doctor ran after Donna, Kayla running alongside him.

“Why are you getting married on Christmas Eve?” Kayla asked while the Doctor soniced the telephone box.

Donna grimaced. “Can't bear it. I hate Christmas. Honeymoon in Morocco. Sunshine -- lovely.” She explained.

Sensing Kayla’s discomfort, the Doctor stepped back from the phone, “Just-- just call the direct.”

Confused, Donna placed the receiver to her ear and then glared at the Doctor. “What did you do?

The Doctor waved his hand. “Something-- Martian. Now, phone. I'll get money!” grabbing Kayla’s hand, the Doctor and the brunette ran over to the nearest money machine. Sadly, they had to wait behind a very slow person.

Finally, just before the Doctor and Kayla would have yelled at the poor man in front of them, the man left the machine and the couple hurried forwards. “It’ll only take me a few seconds to connect to the machine.” Kayla muttered to the Doctor as she started to work on her VM.

Nodding, the Doctor looked around as he soniced the machine and started to help the brunette. “Got it!” Kayla hissed just as he Doctor saw something very, very bad.

Feeling this, Kayla pocketed their money and turned the same direction the Doctor was looking. She did not have to wonder what the Doctor was so worried about. There was a band of masked Santas playing, and they looked oddly familiar.

“They aren’t…are they?” Kayla asked.

Grabbing her hand and squeezing it, the Doctor cursed under his breath as Donna cried out, “Thanks for nothing, spaceman! I'll see you in Court.”

Both whirling around, Kayla and the Doctor watched Donna get driven off by a masked Santa. “Donna!” Kayla cried out, running after the taxi. About to do the same, the Doctor soinced the machine to make money fly out of it before he too ran after the taxi.

* * *

Having arrived back at the TARDIS, Kayla and the Doctor started to pilot the machine. More often than not, the Doctor used an old hammer he had to hit the console so that the TARDIS would hopefully go faster.

“That never works, you know!” Kayla reminded the Doctor.

Not answering, the Doctor grabbed at the monitor and started to pull a few levers. Seeing this, Kayla ran over to the Doctor’s side to help.

Placing her hand down on a lever to flip it, Kayla jumped backwards as the TARDIS sparked and dangerously tilted. “Hey!” Kayla shouted.

The Doctor hit the TARDIS console with his hammer and cried out, “Behave!”

Grabbing the monitor, Kayla started to yell out turning instruction so that the Doctor did not hit the cars. “We’re inline. I’ll pilot and you instruct her!” Kayla ordered, already starting to pull different levers.

Giving her a quick kiss on the check, the Doctor ran to the doors and pulled them open. Ignoring the wind that was rushing outside of them, Kayla focused on piloting the TARDIS. While she didn’t hit the TARDIS with a hammer like the Doctor did, she occasionally did whack the console when the TARDIS was being very annoying.

_‘Kayla! Fly us forwards, now!’_ At this sudden mental command, Kayla started to feverishly fly the TARDIS, pushing it until they were once again next to Donna.

_‘Doctor, I can’t hold this for much longer. Get her out of that car now!’_ Kayla warned the Doctor as she tried to calm the TARDIS. The poor thing was too old for doing this, and if the Doctor made her hold this for much longer, there wouldn’t be a TARDIS.

Feeling the console start to actually _tremble,_ Kayla started to send a message to the Doctor when there was a familiar shriek, a thud, and the closing of the TARDIS doors. Letting out a sigh, Kayla piloted the TARDIS back into the sky.

* * *

Kayla watched Donna check her watch and sigh sadly. They had landed on the rooftop just as a fire sparked up and the Doctor had made sure Kayla was sitting comfortably on the ground next to Donna. Now the Doctor was using a fire extinguisher to put out the fire inside the TARDIS while he coughed.

“Sorry.” Kayla apologized to Donna as the Doctor joined them.

“The funny thing is, for a spaceship, she doesn't really do that much flying. We'd better give her a couple of hours. You all right?” the Time Lord asked as he sat down next to Kayla and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Donna shrugged, her eyes on the two as Kayla leaned into the Time Lord’s chest. “Doesn't matter.”

“Did we miss it?” the Doctor asked.

“Yeah.” Donna sighed with a small nod.

“There’s always the honeymoon.” Kayla supplied.

“It's just a holiday now.” Donna pointed out.

The Doctor scratched at the back of his head, “Yeah…yeah…sorry.”

“It's not you two’s fault.”

Kayla smiled, “That’s changed.” She noted.

Nodding, Donna sighed once more. “Wish we had a time machine. Then we could go back and get it right.”

Kayla instantly buried her head into the Doctor’s chest so Donna didn’t see her laugh. “...Yeah, yeah. But...even if we did, we couldn't go back on someone's personal timeline. Apparently.” The Doctor rattled off.

Giving the couple a suspicious glare, Donna got up from the ground and moved to the ledge of the building. Sitting down on it, she could see most of London. She didn’t look up when the Doctor and Kayla joined her. The Doctor, smiling at Kayla, gave Donna his jacket to put around her shoulders.

“God, you're skinny. This wouldn't fit a rat.” Donna complained.

Kayla rolling her eyes, grabbed a gold ring from the Doctor’s hand and gave it to Donna. “Put it on.” She ordered, “Those creatures can trace you. It’s a bio-damper. Should keep you hidden.”

“Oh, do you have to rub it in?” Donna pointed out as she slid the ring into place.

Rubbing Kayla’s black sleeve, the Doctor smiled at the brunette.

Grinning back at him, Kayla turned towards Donna, “Any questions?” she prompted.

“Robot Santas. What are they for?” Donna asked immediately.

Sighing, the Doctor turned towards Donna, “Ah, your basic robo-scavenger. The Father Christmas stuff is just a disguise. They're trying to blend in. We met them last Christmas.” He explained, rubbing Kayla’s sleeve as he talked.

Donna tilted her head, “Why, what happened then?”

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged puzzled looks. “…Great big spaceship? Hovering over London? You didn't notice?” the brunette asked Donna slowly.

The ginger shrugged, “I had a bit of a hangover.”

Deciding not to push this, the Doctor looked out at London. “Question is, what do camouflaged robot mercenaries want with you? And how did you get inside the TARDIS? I don't know…” the Doctor mused.

Grabbing the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor’s jacket’s pocket, Kayla started to scan Donna while the Doctor rattled on. “It's weird, I mean -- you're not special, you're not powerful, you're not connected, you're not clever, you're not important...” he continued.

It was this that made Donna reach over and slap the Doctor once more. “Stop bleeping me!” She ordered Kayla, who hesitantly put down the screwdriver.

“Where do you work?” Kayla asked.

“I'm at HC Clements. It's where I met Lance. I was temping.” She started. “I mean, it was all a bit posh really. I'd spent the last two years at a double glazing firm. Well, I thought -- I'm never gonna fit in here.” Kayla glanced towards the Doctor and mouthed, ‘Stop her!’ Sadly, the Doctor was unable to do so.

“And then he made me a coffee. I mean, that just doesn't happen. Nobody gets the secretaries a coffee. And Lance -- he's the head of HR! He don't need to bother with me! But he was nice, he was funny.”  She smiled dreamily at the two, “And it turns out he thought everyone else was really snotty too. So that's how it started, me and him -- one cup of coffee. That was it.”

“When did this happen?” Kayla asked quickly, not wanting Donna to continue her story.

Donna grinned, “Six months ago.”

“Bit quick, to get married...” the Doctor pointed out.

At this, Donna just shrugged, “Well...he insisted. And he nagged...and he nagged me...” she sighed, “And he just wore me down and then finally, I just gave in.” she finished.

“What do HC Clements do?” Kayla questioned.

Donna’s brow furrowed, “Oh, security systems, you know... entry codes, ID cards -- that sort of thing. If you ask me, it's a posh name for 'locksmiths.’”

“Keys...” the Doctor started.

Donna sighed and rubbed her forehead, “Anyway, enough of my CV. Come on, it's time to face the consequences. Oh, this is gonna be so shaming. You can do the explaining, Martian-boy and pregnant Martian-girl.”

The Doctor sighed, “We’re not from Mars.” He repeated as he got to his feet and helped Kayla and then Donna to theirs.

“Oh, I had this great big reception all planned. Everyone's gonna be heartbroken.” She moaned.

 


	2. Runaway Bride Pt. 2

When Donna, Kayla, and the Doctor walked into the reception, it appeared that no one was upset about Donna’s disappearing. Quite the opposite, actually. Everyone was dancing to ‘Merry Christmas Everyone,’ and drinking, and eating, and laughing. While Donna gasped and crossed her arms, the Doctor and Kayla stood next to each other, unsure of what to do.

After a few moments of standing in the opening, a blonde older woman noticed them and froze. Soon, everyone was looking at them and standing still.

“You had the reception without me?” Donna said, her eyes wide.

A young and nice looking black man stepped forwards, his brow wrinkled with concern. “Donna... what happened to ya??”

Donna did not look at him. Instead, she chose to stare out at everyone else. “You had the reception without me??” she repeated, her voice rising.

An awkward pause followed that the Doctor quickly broke with, “Hello! I'm the Doctor, and this is Kayla!” he introduced cheerfully.

Donna turned towards them, fuming. “They had the reception without me.”

Kayla nodded, “We gathered.”

“Well, it was all paid for -- why not?” a woman spat with a glare towards Donna.

Donna rolled her eyes. “Thank you, Nerys.” She retorted.

The older woman that had noticed them first started to approach Donna. “Well, what were we supposed to do? I got your silly little message in the end – ‘I'm on Earth?’ Very funny. What the hell happened? How did you do it? I mean, what's the trick because I'd love to know—“

Taking the woman’s lead, the rest of the room started to all talk at once; all of them accusing Donna. Exchanging worried looks, the Doctor and Kayla started to back up as the group started to surround the poor ginger.

And then, unsurprisingly, Donna burst into large tears. Around her, the anger melted into pity and the black man hugged her so that Donna could cry onto his shoulder. Smiling, the Doctor and Kayla couldn’t help but see Donna wink through her fake tears.

* * *

Needless to say, the reception continued like it had before, only this time Donna was dancing with Lance, the young black man. Everyone was laughing, drinking, eating, dancing, and generally having a good time. Even Kayla and the Doctor took part of dancing, though that was mostly because Donna came over and threatened them if they didn’t dance. So Kayla danced with the Doctor, and the Doctor danced with Kayla. But as soon as Donna got busy dancing with Lance and not glaring at them, the Doctor and Kayla too their leave and went over to the bar.

“I’ve looked up HC Clements and the only thing I was able to find, and it took breaking through quite a few firewalls, was that they were the sole property of Torchwood.”

The Doctor tensed at the name. After all, because of Torchwood, he and Kayla were listed dead, and Torchwood nearly took Kayla away from him.

Seeing this reaction, Kayla gave him a tight hug that he returned. “I’m still here, aren’t I?” She pointed out.  

Nodding and rubbing her back, the Doctor gave her a quick kiss before pulling away and nodding towards a camera man close by. “He probably recorded it.”

Kayla smiled at the Doctor. “Good point. Let’s go talk to him.”

Grinning, the Doctor took Kayla’s hand and walked with her over to the man. At their asking about whether or not he taped the occurrence, the man laughed and started to fiddle with his camera, speaking to them through the entire time. “I taped the whole thing -- they've all had a look. They said ‘Sell it to _You've Been Framed_.’ I said ‘More like the News.’ Here we are...”

Clicking a button, the man played the tape. On a small screen, the Doctor and Kayla watched as Donna paused in the middle of the isle. Her mouth opens in shock and she starts screaming. Oddly enough, it seemed like she disintegrated into golden particles, still screaming.

“Can't be!” the Doctor gasped.

Kayla frowned at him. “What is it?” she asked the Doctor.

Shaking his head, the Doctor turned to the man. “Play it again?”

The man nodded and started to reset it up. “Clever, mind! Good trick, I'll give her that. I was clapping.” He informed them.

Watching the video once more, Kayla’s brow furrowed as she turned to the Doctor. “What is it?”

The Doctor gaped at the screen. “Huon Particles!”

“No!” Kayla gasped at the same time that the cameraman asked, “What's that?”

“But that’s impossible.” Kayla protested, shaking her head. “Huon energy doesn't exist anymore.”

The Doctor nodded next to her. “It hasn’t for billions of years! So old that...” shaking his head, Kayla saw his eyes go to Donna. “....it can't be hidden by a biodamper!”

Grabbing Kayla’s hand, he dragged her with him to a window. “Doctor,” Kayla warned, her eyes on the worrying sight of the Santa Band walking towards them, “We need to warn the others. _Now.”_

Nodding in agreement, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand once more and dragged her with him to Donna. “Donna! Donna, they've found you.” He warned her.

“But you said I was safe.” Donna protested, her eyes wide.

Kayla shook her head. “We thought we know what was wrong, but we were wrong. The biodamper won’t work.”

The Doctor nodded next to her. “We've got to get everyone out.”

Donna, her eyes wide, looked around the room in horror. “Oh, my God -- it's all my family...” she gasped.

“Back door, now!” Kayla ordered. Grabbing the Doctor and Donna, the brunette dragged them with her to the door and out it only to see two Santas coming towards them.

“Maybe not.” The Doctor said.

Giving him an annoyed look, Kayla dragged them back into the reception and to another window to see two _more_ Santas.

“We're trapped.” Donna moaned.

The three of them, horrified, watched as the two Santas held up a remote of some sort. The Doctor, scratching at his neck, turned away and then gasped. Whirling around at the noise, Kayla looked at the Doctor. “What?” she asked.

“Christmas trees...” the Doctor answered, pointing at the massive Christmas tree in the center of the room.

Kayla’s eyes widened, remembering last Christmas and how the Christmas tree in Jackie’s house came to life and tried to kill them.

“What about them?” Donna asked next to the couple.

The Doctor swallowed, looking around at all the people in the rooms. “They kill.” Kayla said for the Doctor.

Donna made an odd croaking noise that made Kayla look over at her. Waving a hand, the ginger followed the Doctor into the crowds to warn the others.

“Get away from the tree!” Kayla shouted, physically moving a group over as she did so.

“Don't touch the trees!” Donna warned from somehow behind her and to the left.

“Get away from the Christmas trees, everyone get away from them!” the Doctor added in, much closer than Donna and to her right.

The Santas, having entered the party, had their remote controls pointed at the trees. Kayla, seeing this, started to push through the crowds until she was next to the Doctor. “They’re in here.” She informed him.

Instantly, the Doctor looked around and, spotting them, grimaced and wrapped a protective arm around Kayla’s shoulders. “We need to get to Donna.”

Nodding, the Doctor and Kayla made their way through the crowds and to Donna. The ginger was now yelling at her baffled husband as well, “Out! Lance, tell them!”

“Stay away from the tree!” Kayla yelled at a woman coming dangerously close to the tree. Kayla saw the woman roll her eyes, so she repeated the yell, “Stay away from the tree!”

“Oh, for God's sakes, the man's an idiot, and so is that girl! Why? What's a Christmas tree gonna...oh!” the woman’s voice trailed off, startled. The baubles that had previously been decorating the tree all started to move away from the tree in an odd sort of dance.

The Doctor stared, drawing Kayla closer to him as the baubles floated above all the people’s head. For a second, nothing happened. But then, everything went crazy as the baubles started to dive bomb everything around the room, causing small to medium explosions. As everyone started to scream and run for cover, the Doctor and Kayla ran over to the DJ table that was opposite from the Santas.

“Oi! Santa! Word of advice: if you're attacking a man and a woman with a sonic screwdriver...” he leaned forwards to speak into the microphone while Kayla worked with the screwdriver, “... don't let them near the sound system.”

Nodding to Kayla, the brunette soniced the amp. The Doctor, leaning down, covered Kayla’s ear as a horrible, high-pitched screeching sound. At the sound, everyone let out a pained cry and covered their ears. Meanwhile, the Santas vibrated violently until they fell to pieces.

As soon as they collapsed, Kayla gave the Doctor the sonic screwdriver and allowed him to help her to her feet. Once she was standing, the two ran over and examined the mechanics Santas while around them, everyone got to their feet. Soon everyone all started to ramble at the same time.

Picking up one of the controls, Kayla examined it while the Doctor turned to Donna. “Look at that -- remote control for the decorations.” He explained, motioning towards the controller, “but there's a second remote control for the robots.” Leaning down, the Doctor revealed a small controller at the back of the robot’s head. “They're not scavengers anymore. I think someone's taken possession.”

“Never mind all that, you're a doctor -- people have been hurt.” Donna protested, looking around worriedly at the others.

Kayla picked up a bauble. “They want you alive. Look, they’re not active now.”

Donna sighed, “All I'm saying -- you could help.”

Picking up the head and listening to it, the Doctor shook his head. “Gotta think of the bigger picture... there's still a signal!” Grabbing Kayla’s hand, the two took off with Donna following.

* * *

Now outside, the Doctor started to scan the head. “There's someone behind this, directing the robo-force.” He explained to Kayla.

“But why is it me? What have I done?” Donna asked, sounding worried.

Kayla gave Donna a tight smile. “Once we find who’s the controller, we’ll be able to tell you.”

The Doctor let out a shout and raised his screwdriver to the sky. “It's up there. Something in the sky.” He paused, moving the sonic around before he growled in annoyance. “I've lost the signal -- Donna, we've got to get to your office, HC Clements. I think that's where it all started. Lance -- is it Lance? Can he give us a lift?”

* * *

Having arrived at HC Clements, the Doctor, Kayla, Donna, and Lance ran into the office and up to Donna’s floor. There, the Doctor headed straight to the computer. “This might just be a locksmiths, but HC Clements was brought up twenty three years ago by the Torchwood Institute.” He explained.

“Who are they?” Donna asked, which Kayla found odd.

Turning towards the ginger, Kayla answered darkly with, “They were behind the battle of Canary Wharf.” Donna stared at the brunette, not knowing what she was talking about. “The Cyberman invasion.” Donna blinked. “Skies over London full of Daleks?” Kayla asked.

Donna finally waved her hand. “Oh, I was in Spain.”

“They had Cybermen in Spain.” The Doctor said from the computer.

“Scuba diving.” Donna pointed out with a shrug.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “That big picture, Donna -- you keep on missing it.” Getting up, he hurried over to another computer and started to type something. “Torchwood was destroyed, but HC Clements stayed in business. I think...someone else came in and took over,” he paused to whack the monitor. “The operation.”

Donna frowned. “But what do they want with me?”

Turning away from the computer, the Doctor gave the ginger his full attention. “Somehow you've been dosed with Huon energy. And that's a problem because Huon energy hasn't existed since the Dark times. The only place you'd find a Huon particle now is a remnant in the heart of the TARDIS.”

Kayla grabbed a mug from one of the desks and a pencil from another. “Say that this mug is the TARDIS.” she waves her mug at Donna, “And this is you.” She continued, showing her the pencil. “The Huon particles activated in you and the Huon particles in the TARDIS reacted with them and you were pulled into the TARDIS.” She explained while carefully placing the pencil into the mug.

“I'm a pencil inside a mug?” Donna asked in a weak voice, her eyes wide.

The Doctor shrugged and nodded. “Yes, you are. 4H. Sums you up. Lance? What was HC Clements working on? Anything top secret? Special operations? Do not enter?”

Lance scoffed loudly and crossed his arms, something that made Kayla send him a sharp glare. “I don't know, I'm in charge of personnel. I wasn't project manager.”

Leaning over and typing something in to the computer for the Doctor, a plan of the building appeared on the monitor.

“Why am I even explaining myself?? What the hell are we talking about?” Lance suddenly cried out, but no one paid attention to him.

Kayla rolled her eyes and pointed at the monitor. “They make keys, that's the point. And look at this...”

“...We're on the third floor.” The Doctor finished for the brunette.

* * *

Having used the sonic screwdriver to call a lift, the Doctor stood next to Kayla with Donna and Lance behind them. “Underneath reception, there's a basement, yes?” The Doctor asked as the door chimed merrily and walked with Kayla inside.

“Then why,” Kayla started, motioning towards the panel of buttons, “Why is there a button that says ‘lower basement?’ It doesn’t exist on the official plans, so what is it used for?”

“Are you telling me this building's got a secret floor?” Lance asked with a huff and an arched eyebrow.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “No, We’re showing you this building's got a secret floor.”

Donna frowned. “It needs a key.”

Kayla shook her head and used the Doctor’s sonic screwdriver on the keyhole. “We don’t.”

The Doctor bowed his head towards the couple. “Right then, thanks you two, we can handle this -- see you later.”

Donna rolled her eyes and stormed into the lift like Kayla and the Doctor had known she would. “No chance, Martian. You're the man who keeps saving my life, I ain't letting you out of my sight.”

Kayla grinned and clapped Donna on the shoulder. “Going down with us, then?”

Nodding, Donna turned to Lance. “Lance?” she asked pointedly.

Lance twitched with obvious discomfort. “Maybe I should go to the police.”

“Inside.” Donna ordered bluntly.

Ducking his head, Lance walked into the lift and stood on the other side of the Doctor.

“To honor and obey?” the Doctor asked with an arched eyebrow.

Lance sighed, “Tell me about it, mate.”

“OI.” Donna protested loudly while Kaya chuckled and leaned onto the Doctor’s shoulder. The doors closed and the lift descended into the hidden basement.

* * *

When the lift arrived at their destination, the foursome stepped into a dark, dank, dimly lit corridor that had an oddly eerie green light. Donna blinked and looked around, her mouth open. “Where are we? Well, what goes on down here?”

Kayla sighed and pressed a few buttons on her Vortex Manipulator and brought up a digital flashlight that worked surprisingly well. “I didn’t know that could make a flashlight.” The Doctor noted.

The brunette shrugged. “Thank Torchwood for that. They updated this old thing.”

Looking very confused, Donna glanced over at the couple. “Do you think Mr. Clements knows about this place?” She asked before they could throw around more things she didn’t understand.

“The mysterious HC Clements? I think he's part of it.” He pauses, his eyes traveling to something. “Oh, look -- transport.”

* * *

Donna stood on an electric scooter. Lance stood on the electric scooter. The Doctor, however, was standing on a scooter behind Kayla, his arms wrapped around her waist. He didn’t trust the electric scooters. Donna, not having an overprotective fiancé, looked over at the Doctor and Kayla and started to laugh loudly. Rolling her eyes, Kayla couldn’t help but join in while the Doctor snorted. The only person who didn’t start to laugh was Lance, who seemed very nervous about the whole ordeal.

Sighing, Kayla pulled to a stop as they reached a door marked, **‘Torchwood -- authorized personnel only.’** Getting off, Kayla stood the side next to Lance and Donna as the Doctor turned a wheel that would open the marked door. Thankfully, it opened without any trouble, revealing a ladder inside the room.

Looking up, Kayla started to instantly climb it. “Where are you going?” the Doctor called up to the ladder.

“To find out what’s upstairs.” Kayla replied, pausing. “Aren’t you coming?”

Sighing, the Doctor turned to Lance and Donna. “Wait here. Just need to follow my girl. Don't...” He paused to point to the couple sternly, “...do anything.” Shaking his head, the Doctor started to climb up the ladder.

Opening a manhole at the top of the ladder, Kayla climbed up and looked out at the night sky. Sniffing, her nose wrinkled at the smell of something very polluted. Looking down, her eyes widened in understanding at the sight of a lake.

“Coming down!” Kayla warned the Doctor as she climbed down. The Doctor jumped off the last rung of the ladder, grabbed Kayla’s waist, and placed her down on the floor. Giving him a nice pat on the Doctor’s cheek, Kayla turned to the others. “Thames flood barrier! Right on top of us. Torchwood snuck in and built this place underneath.”

Donna’s eyes widened. “What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark??”

The Doctor grinned widely and nudged Kayla. “I know! Unheard of.” Letting out a chuckle that Kayla echoed at the reminder of the story, the couple strolled causally into a laboratory that was filled with massive test tubes bubbling with some sort of liquid.

“Particle extrusion.” Kayla noted, her eyes wide.

Donna tilted her head, looking at the machine Kayla was staring at. “What does it do?”

“Particle extrusion.” The Doctor echoed, but then he hurried over to the bubbling tubes, “Hold on...” Trailing after him, Kayla tapped one of the tubes and exchanged a look with the Doctor. “Brilliant. They've been manufacturing Huon particles. In case our people got rid of Huons, they unraveled the atomic structure.”

Lance’s brow furrowed almost comically. “Your people? Who are they? What company do you represent?” he asked the Doctor.

The Doctor blinked, his brow furrowing. “Oh, I'm a freelancer.” He answered with a shrug. “But this lot are rebuilding them. They've been using the river!” the Doctor stopped, looking at the bubbling liquid.

Knowing that he wouldn’t continue, Kayla turned towards the very confused Donna and Lance. “Extruding them through a flat hydrogen base so they've got the end result -- Huon particles in liquid form.” Grinning, she picked up a small test tube filled with Huon particles.

Donna leaned forwards, looking at the tube. “And that's what's inside me?” Giving her a sad expression, the Doctor turned a knob at the top of the test tube. After a second, the Huon particles glowed golden along with Donna. “Oh, my God!” the ginger cried out.

The Doctor nodded. “Because the particles are inert -- they need something living to catalyse inside and that's you. Saturate the body and then...HA!”  The Doctor let out a shout that made Donna jump and Kayla whack him on the arm.

“The wedding! Yes, you're getting married, that's it! Best day of your life, walking down the aisle -- oh, your body's a battleground! There's a chemical war inside! Adrenaline, acetylcholine, WHAM go the endorphins, oh you're cooking! Yeah, you're like a walking oven! A pressure cooker, a microwave, all churning away, the particles reach boiling point, SHAZAM!” the Doctor jumped, his eyes wide as he explained.

And then, before anyone could do anything, Donna slapped the Time Lord once again.

“Hey!” Kayla shouted, glaring at Donna.

“What did I do this time??” the Doctor protested with a frown.

Donna glared at the couple. “Are you enjoying this??” Relaxing, the Doctor ducked his head while Kayla placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. “Right, just tell me -- these particles, are they dangerous? Am I safe?”

“Yes!” the Doctor and Kayla replied much too quickly to be convincing.

Donna arched an eyebrow and stepped towards them. “If your lot got rid of Huon particles...why did they do that?”

Kayla placed both hands on Donna’s shoulder. “They’re deadly.” She answer bluntly.

“Oh, my God...” Donna gasped.

The Doctor placed an arm around Kayla’s waist. “We’ll sort it out, Donna. Whatever's been done to you, We'll reverse it. We’re not about to lose someone else.” The Time Lord vowed.

Nodding, the group all jumped at the loud and sudden sounds of bangs and crashes. “Oh, she is long since lost.” A crazy sounding female cried out. Nearby, a wall slid up to reveal a secret chamber with an enormous round hole in the floor. “I have waited so long, hibernating at the edge of the universe...” Lance squeaked and hurried towards the door. “....until the secret heart was uncovered and called out to waken!” At this finishing cry, Kayla noticed the armed robots lining the walls.

Taking Kayla’s hand, the two stepped forwards with Donna trailing behind them. Together, the three of them looked down at the hole. “Someone's been digging...oh, very Torchwood. Drilled by laser. How far down does it go?” the Doctor asked.

“Down and down, all the way to the center of the Earth!” The voice answered, sounding proud.

Kayla’s brow furrowed. “Why?” she questioned.

“Dinosaurs.” Donna answered promptly.

The Doctor turned around, confused. “What?”

“Dinosaurs?” Donna repeated.

Kayla sighed. “There aren’t any dinosaurs in the center of the Earth.” She answered in a dull voice.

“Trying to help!” Dona protested.

“That's not helping.” The Doctor notified her.

The mysterious voice actually crackled with glee. “Such a sweet couple.” She crowed, though whether she was speaking about the Doctor and Kayla, Kayla and Donna, or the Doctor and Donna was unknown.

The Doctor sighed and turned away, his eyes scanning the room. “Only a madman talks to thin air and trust me, you don't want to make me mad. Where are you?”

“High in the sky, floating so high on Christmas Night.” The voice answered.

Kayla frowned. “I think we’re on intercom.” She informed the Doctor.

At this, the Doctor frowned. “We didn't come all this way to talk on the intercom! Come on, let's have a look at you!” he shouted at the walls.

The voice paused, seeming to be confused. “Who are you with such command?”

Kayla sighed, knowing that the Doctor would give his actual name, which was quite stupid. “I'm the Doctor.”

“Prepare your best medicines, doctor-man, for you will be sick at heart.” At this chilling reply, the hairs on the back of Kayla’s neck stood up as a wave of teleport energy flowed through the room. Sure enough, a bright red, giant Racnoss appeared in the chamber and snarled at the threesome.

“You’re a Racnoss.” Kayla breathed, “But how is that possible?”

“Empress of the Racnoss.” The apparent Empress corrected.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, thinking quickly. “If you're the Empress, where's the rest of the Racnoss? Or...are you the only one?”

“Such a sharp mind.” The Empress commented.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, noticing the lack of answer. “That's it, the last of your kind.” He turned to Donna to give her a quick, unneeded history listen. “The Racnoss come from the Dark Times, billions of years ago, billions. They were carnivores, omnivores, they devoured whole planets.”

“Racnoss are born starving, is that our fault?” Empress asked loudly, jutting her chin out.

Kayla turned towards the Racnoss. “No,” she agreed, “but the fact that you eat inhabited planets instead of the ones that aren’t is your fault.”

“They eat people?” Donna gasped, horrified.

His eyes flickering up to something, the Doctor looked back to Donna. “HC Clements, did he wear those-- those erm, black and white shoes?”

Donna nodded, a grin suddenly spreading across her face. “He did! We used to laugh, we used to call him the fat cat in spats.” His face grim, the Doctor pointed at the black and white shoes that were still attached to a pair of legs. The rest of the dead body was hidden in the web covering the ceiling.

“Oh, my God!” Donna cried out.

“Mm, my Christmas dinner.” The Empress crackled.

Glaring at the thing, Kayla took an angry step towards it. “You shouldn't even exist! Way back in history, the Fledgling Empires went to war against the Racnoss -- they were wiped out.”

“Except for me.” The Empress agreed, as if that was a good thing.

Donna glared at the Empress. “But that's what I've got inside me, that Huon energy thing. Oi! Look at me, lady, I'm talking. Where do I fit in? How comes I get all stacked up with these Huon particles?” The Empress glanced over at the Doctor and Kayla. “Look at me, you! Look me in the eye and tell me.”

The Empress looked at Donna, looking mildly confused. “The bride is so feisty!”

Donna nodded. “Yes, I am! And I don't know what you are, you big...thing. But a spider's just a spider and an axe is an axe! Now, do it!”

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged worried looks as they saw Lance, axe in hand, swing it at the back of the Empress’ head just as the Empress turned her head around to hiss at the man. For a second, nothing happened. Then Lance looked over at the others and started to laugh loudly. The Empress joined in.

“That was a good one. Your face!” Lance stated as he put the axe down.

“Lance is funny.” Empress agreed with another crackle.

Donna stared at the two. “What??”

The Doctor placed a hand on Donna’s shoulder at the same time that Kayla moved to Donna’s other side and took the ginger’s hand. “I’m sorry.” The Doctor apologized in a soft voice

Donna looked at the couple, confused. “Sorry for what? Lance, don't be so stupid! Get her!”

Lance smirked at the ginger. “God, she's thick.”  Donna shook her head, still very, very confused. “Months I had to put up with her. Months. A woman who can't even point to Germany on a map.”

“I don't understand.” Donna whimpered, starting to realize that Lance was talking about _her._

Kayla sighed, feeling her hearts breaking for Donna. “How did you meet him?” she prompted.

“In the office.” Donna answered promptly.

“He made you coffee.” The Doctor pointed out.

Donna shook her head. “What??”

Lance sneered down at the ginger from the platform. “Every day, I made you coffee.” He said in a slow, nasty voice.

“You had to be dosed with liquid particles over six months.” Kayla explained.

Donna’s eyes widened. “He was poisoning me?”

The Doctor glared over at Lance. “It was all there in the job title -- the Head of Human Resources.”

Lance nodded. “This time, it's personnel.” He quipped, which made the Empress and himself laugh.

“But...we were getting married.” Donna protested weakly.

Lance shrugged. “Well, I couldn't risk you running off. I had to say yes. And then I was stuck with a woman who thinks the height of excitement is a new flavor Pringle. Oh, I had to sit there and listen to all that yap yap yap – ‘oh, Brad and Angelina -- is Posh pregnant?’ X Factor, Atkins Diet, Feng Shui, split ends, text me, text me, text me, dear God, the never ending fountain of fat, stupid trivia.” He mimicked with a sneer, “I deserve a medal.”

Donna’s face crumpled and she took a step back, making the Doctor quickly bring Lance’s cruel attention to himself. “Oh, is that what she's offered you? The Empress of the Racnoss? What are you? Her consort?”

“It's better than a night with her.” Lance stated, sounding like he actually meant it.

Donna, her brow furrowed, whimpered, “But I love you.”

“That's what made it easy.” Lance sneered back before turning back to the Doctor. “It's like you said, Doctor -- the big picture -- what's the point of it all if the Human Race is nothing? That's what the Empress can give me. The chance to...go out there. To see it. The size of it all. I think you understand that, don't you, Doctor?” And then his head whipped around to Kayla. “And you, you’re his girl, aren’t you? I think you understand what I mean as well.

“Who is this little physician and his girl?” the Empress asked suddenly, having been quiet throughout the rest of the conversation.

Lance turned towards the spider. “What she said -- Martian. And the girl is probably the same.”

The Doctor tugged at his ear. “Oh, we’re sort of...homeless. But the point is, what's down here? The Racnoss are extinct. What's gonna help you four thousand miles down? That's just the molten core of the Earth, isn't it?” he asked, bringing their attention off their home.

Lance exchanged a look with the Empress. “I think he wants us to talk.”

“I think so too.” The spider agreed.

Together, the two laughed. Lance sneered over at Donna. “Well, tough! All we need is Donna!”

“Kill this chattering little doctor-man and his girl!” the Empress commanded.

Donna quickly moved in front of Kayla and the Doctor. “Don't you hurt him or her!”

“No, no, it's all right.” The Doctor placated quickly.

Donna whirled around, shaking her head. “No, I won't let them!” she protested.

The Empress crackled, “At arms!”

Immediately, the robots pointed their guns at Kayla and the Doctor, and the Doctor held up his hand. “Ah, now. Except.”

“Take aim!” The Empress continued with the order.

The Doctor grinned briefly at Kayla before continuing, “Well, I just want to point out the obvious—“

The Empress grinned down at the Doctor and Kayla. “They won't hit the bride. They're such very good shots.”

“Just-- just-- just-- hold on, just a tick, just a tiny-- just a little-- tick. If you think about it, the particles activated in Donna and drew her inside my spaceship. So, reverse it...the spaceship comes to her.” The Doctor, finished, nodded to Kayla. Quickly, Kayla turned the knob the Huon energy, making the tube and Donna glow.

“Aim at the girl! Fire!”

Starting to fire, the Doctor grabbed Donna’s wrist and ran over with her to Kayla just in time for the console room the surround them all and the bullets to hit the TARDIS. “Off we go!” the Doctor yelled, starting to pilot the TARDIS console along with Kayla.

“My key! My key!” the Empress cried out as the TARDIS left.

Turning away from the console, the Doctor started to ramble about their plan. “Oh, you know what we said before about time machines? Well, we lied. And now we're gonna use it. We need to find out what the Empress of the Racnoss is digging up. If something's buried at the planet core, it must've been there since the beginning. That's just brilliant. Molto bene! I've always wanted to see this. Donna -- we're going further back than I've ever been before.”

Seeing her shoulders shaking with tears, Kayla headed over to Donna and hugged her tightly. “Come on dear, let’s get you in one of these chairs.” The brunette said in a soft voice, “They’re very soft.”

Sitting down in one of the chairs, Donna started to cry to herself softly while Kayla started to help the Doctor, her eyes glancing towards the Doctor and Donna.

Pulling a knob, the Doctor stopped and peered over at Donna. “We've arrived...want to see?”

Donna sighed, “I s'pose.”

Looking over at the ginger, Kayla pulled the monitor around. “Oh, that scanner's a bit small. Maybe your way's best.”  The Doctor noted, looking over the brunette’s shoulder. Grinning, the Time Lord took Kayla’s hand and led her over to the doors.

Pausing him, Kayla looked back at Donna, “Come on.” Resigned, Donna got to her feet and joined the couple at the doors. “No human's ever seen this. You'll be the first.” Kayla pointed out with a soft smile.

“All I want to see is my bed.” Donna grumbled.

Not really knowing how to reply, the Doctor decided to put his hands on the doors. “Donna Noble -- welcome to the creation of the Earth.” Very slowly, he opened the doors of the TARDIS.

Outside, there was a spectacular sight. The Sun, new and young, was shining through different colored clouds and gas with enormous rocks circling it.

At the sight, Donna’s mouth fell open and Kayla’s eyes widened, “It’s all dust, rocks, and gas,” the brunette gasped.

The Doctor nodded, “We've gone back 4.6 billion years. There's no solar system, not yet,” he agreed, and the nodded towards the young and brightly burning sun, “That's the Sun over there, brand new. Just beginning to burn.”

Donna frowned, “Where's the Earth?”

The Doctor pointed out the area around them, “All around us...in the dust.”

“Puts the wedding in perspective. Lance was right. We're just...tiny,” Donna said in a small voice.

Kayla shook her head and placed an arm around Donna’s shoulder, “No…I wouldn’t say that. The human race, my old race, just does this sort of thing. Making sense out of chaos. Marking it out with weddings and Christmas and calendars. This whole process is beautiful, but only if it's being observed.”

The Doctor smiled at her, “Exactly what I would say,” he praised his fiancé.

Kayla blushed slightly and said nothing. After a while, Donna smiled slightly and nodded towards a large rock floating past the TARDIS, “I think that's the Isle of Wight,” she joked; this was enough to break the silence and make the three laugh.

“Eventually, gravity takes hold. Say, one big rock, heavier than the others, starts to pull other rocks towards it. All the dust and gas and elements get pulled in, everything, piling in until you get the...” the Doctor started to lecture.

“Earth,” Donna finished.

Kayla nodded, “But what was the first rock?”

As if this was a cue, a star-shaped rock emerged through the gas and rocks and Donna gasped, “Look.”

The Doctor looked over at the rock, “The Racnoss...”he gasped, and then grabbed Kayla’s hand and ran with her over to the console and started to pull different levers.

“Hold on -- the Racnoss are hiding from the war! What's it doing?” Kayla asked in a sharp voice.

Donna, still at the TARDIS doors, was staring out at space as the couple sped up time. She answered Kayla’s question in an awed voice, “Exactly what you said.”

Leaving the TARDIS console in Kayla’s control, the Doctor ran over to Donna and peered out, “Oh, they didn't just bury something at the center of the Earth...they became the center of the Earth. The first rock.”

Suddenly Kayla shouted out, “Hold on!” With this as the only warning, the Doctor and Donna barely had anytime to grab onto something as the TARDIS shook violently.

“What was that?” Donna gasped once the TARDIS had calmed down a bit.

The Doctor slammed the doors of the ship shut and ran over to check on Kayla.

“Doctor, Kayla, what was that?” Donna repeated.

The Doctor glanced back at the worried ginger, “Trouble.”

The TARDIS shook again and made a worrisome grinding noise. This made Kayla clutch onto the console with one hand and struggled to pilot with the other; the Doctor tried to make sure that Kayla was okay; and Donna hooked her arm around one of the coral trees and yelled at the couple, “What the hell's it doing??”

The Doctor pulled a lever at the same time that Kayla did, which made the TARDIS calm down slightly, “Remember that little trick I pulled -- particles pulling particles. It works in reverse -- they're pulling us back!”

Kayla nearly fell back onto the floor when the TARDIS shook rather badly, “Go sit down!” the Doctor ordered his fiancé sharply. Huffing, Kayla moved towards the captain chair and sat down in it heavily.

Donna moved over to Kayla and sat down next to her. While a normal person would have realized that they didn’t have to shout quite as loudly as before, Donna either didn’t note this or didn’t care. So when she spoke to the Doctor again, her voice was very loud.

“Well, can't you stop it? Hasn't it got a handbrake? Can't you reverse or warp or beam or something?”

The Doctor sighed, “Backseat driver,” he then paused slightly, “Oh! Wait a minute!”

Realizing what he was getting to, Kayla quickly got off her seat and grabbed something from under the console, “The extrapolator! Can't stop us, but it should give us a good bump!” the brunette cried out as she handed the machine to the Doctor.

“The bride shall join her groom. What a wedding there shall be,” The Empress spat loudly from outside the materializing TARDIS; her voice was loud enough that it was heard inside the ship.

The Doctor whacked the extrapolator, “Now!”

This action proved to be the jump-start they needed and the TARDIS moved away from the Empress and landed in a corridor. Instantly, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and ran with her out of the TARDIS, “We're about 200 yards to the right. Come on!”

* * *

So they ran. They ran down the corridor and turned a corridor until they were in front of the doorway that led up to the Thames flood barrier.

“But what do we do?” Donna panted, her eyes wide.

It took a bit for the Doctor to reply because he had his stethoscope against the door with Kayla listening to it along with him. Finally, when Donna tapped him roughly on the shoulder, the Time Lord replied quickly, “We don't know! We make it up as we go along! But trust us, we've got a history.”

Donna frowned at the couple, “But I still don't understand. I'm full of particles -- but what for?”

This time, it was Kayla that replied, though she didn’t turn away from the door, “There's a Racnoss web at the center of the Earth, but our people unraveled their power source. The Huon particles ceased to exist but the Racnoss are stuck.”

The Doctor nodded next to her, “They've just been in hibernation for billions of years. Frozen. Dead. Kaput! So you're the new key. Brand new particles, living particles! They need you to open it and you have never been so quiet.”

Kayla growled and glanced back at the now empty corridor, “Damn,” she cursed, “She’s gone.”

The Doctor sighed and unlocked the door with the sonic screwdriver and pulled it open. With a cry, the Doctor pulled the brunette back and away from the two armed robots that were behind the door.

* * *

Having disguised themselves as the robots, the Doctor and Kayla made their way slowly into the chamber as the robots. The masks that they were wearing were protective but hard to see through, which meant that when Lance suddenly shouted out, “Use her! Not me! Use her!” the Doctor nearly started while Kayla stayed perfectly still.

“Oh, my funny little Lance! But you are quite impolite to your lady-friend. The Empress does not approve,” this reply, along with Donna’s cry of, “Laaaaaance,” made the Doctor and Kayla sure that Lance had been killed.

The Doctor sent a quick warning to Kayla through their link before he started to climb up the stairs. Behind him, Kayla followed him up the stairs.

This proved to be their mistake.

“My children are climbing towards me and none shall stop them! So you might as well unmask, my clever little doctor-man and brunette-lady,” the Empress hissed at the cloaked Doctor and Kayla.

Whipping off her cloak and mask along with the Doctor, Kayla grabbed the sonic screwdriver from the Doctor’s pocket and aimed it at Donna, “It’s alright! I’ve got you,” she promised.

Donna was not assured, “I'm gonna fall!”

Kayla shook her head, “You're gonna swing!”

And just like the brunette had said, Donna swung towards the Doctor; his arms were outstretched and he was shouting, “I've got ya!”

Instead of catching her, the Doctor, Kayla, and the Empress watched as Donna swung under the platform the two Time Lords were standing on and smashed into the wall with a dull bang.

“...oh. Sorry.” The Doctor apologized with a slight frown.

“Thanks for nothing,” Donna hissed up at him; she was sprawled on her back beneath the couple and in obvious pain.

The Empress laughed loudly, “The doctor-man amuses me.”

Letting Donna handle herself, the Doctor turned towards the large red spider, “Empress of the Racnoss – Kayla and I give you one last chance. We can find you a planet; a place in the universe to coexist. Take that offer and end this now,” he commanded with Kayla nodding next to him.

The Empress snarled at the couple, “These men are so funny,” she laughed.

Kayla frowned, “I’m not a man…”

The Doctor gave her a soft smile before turning towards the Empress, “What's your answer?”

“Oh -- I'm afraid I have to decline,” the Empress answered with a chuckle.

It was Kayla that answered, and her expression was stony, “What happens next is your own doing.”

The Empress laughed once again, “I'll show you what happens next. At arms!” At her command, the robots stood at attention, “Take aim! And—“

“Relax,” Kayla commanded in a hard voice. At once, the robots went limp.

“What did you do?” Donna asked, her mouth open wide in shock.

Kayla took the remote control for the robots out of her pocket with a grin, “Pockets.”

Donna tilted her head to the side, “How did that fit in there?”

Kayla grinned, “They're bigger on the inside.”

The Empress glared at the three of them, “Robo-forms are not necessary. My children may feast on Martian flesh.”

The Doctor shook his head, “Oh, but we’re not from Mars.”

“Then where?”

“My home planet is far away and long-since gone. But its name lives on. Gallifrey.”

The Empress recoiled at the name and spat on the floor, “They murdered the Racnoss!”

Kayla shrugged, having already gotten the history lesson from the Doctor, “You did this”; with a glare, she took out a handful of the explosive baubles. Not even allowing enough time for the Empress to know her fate, the brunette threw the baubles at the Empress. Some of them went down the hole and at the Racnoss; some hit the walls and made water rush in; and some surrounded the Empress.

“My children!” the Empress screamed as the water flooded around her red legs and down the hole.

Instead of getting out of there, the Doctor and Kayla watched with no expression on their faces as fires started around them and water gushed down the hole and around them.

“No! My children! My children!” the Empress screamed loudly in a hysterical and pain-filled voice.

Donna gasped, “Doctor! Kayla! You can stop now!”

Not even moving, the Doctor and Kayla continued to watch…

“Come on! I gotta get my fiancé and child out of here!”

* * *

Having gotten out of the chamber, the Doctor watched as Kayla started to climb up the ladder with Donna about to start behind her, “But what about the Empress?”

It was Kayla hat answered, “She's used up all her Huon energy -- she's defenseless!”

Laughing, the Doctor joined the climbing party as Kayla opened the hatch and climbed out onto the floor barrier with Donna close behind. For a second, Donna and Kayla were silent, but then as the Doctor poked his head out, the two women started to whoop and cheer with delight at the empty night sky. The Empress of the Racnoss was dead!

“Just...there's one problem,” Donna stated once she had caught her breath and the Doctor had joined them.

“Oh no…” Kayla groaned.

“What?” the Doctor asked the two of them.

Donna sighed, “We've drained the Thames.”

Looking at the empty area where the water had been, the three of them burst into laughter once more.

* * *

The Doctor had climbed back down into the building and had flown the TARDIS onto the bottom of the now empty Thames and had Kayla and Donna climb down and into the TARDIS. Then, and only then, did they fly over to Donna’s street and got out of the ship.

“There we go. Told you she'd be all right. She can survive anything,” the Doctor said proudly and pat the TARDIS.

Donna shook her head and sighed, “More than I've done.”

Waving his hand, the Doctor watched as Kayla soniced the ginger. “All the Huon particles have gone. No damage, you're fine.”

“Yeah, but apart from that...I missed my wedding, lost my job and became a widow on the same day. Sort of,” Donna pointed out.

The Doctor sighed softly, “I couldn't save him.”

“He deserved it,” Donna stated, and then shook her head. “I'd better get inside. They'll be worried.”

Kayla grinned. “Best Christmas present they could have,” she nodded towards one of the windows to the house which revealed, Donna’s mother and her father hugging.

“Oh, no, I forgot -- you hate Christmas,” the Doctor said suddenly.

Donna grimaced and shook her head, “Yes, I do.”

“Even if it snows?”

Smiling at Kayla and Donna, the Doctor flicked a switch and a ball of bright, white light was shot into the sky and caused it to start to snow.

At this, Donna laughed in delight. “I can't believe you did that!”

The Doctor shrugged, “Oh, basic atmospheric excitation.”

Grinning at the ginger, the Doctor wrapped his arm around his fiancé and kissed her cheek softly. This made Donna shake her head and say, “Oi, Love birds. Merry Christmas.”

“And you. So...what will you do with yourself now?” The Doctor asked.

Donna beamed at the question. “Not getting married for starters. And I'm not gonna temp anymore. I dunno...travel...see a bit more of planet Earth...walk in the dust. Just...go out there and do something.”

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged a look and Kayla shook her head. Frowning slightly, the Doctor looked back at Donna and then sighed. “We best be going.”

Donna shook her head, “Christmas dinner. Oh, come on.”

“We don’t do that,” Kayla answered quickly as she felt the Doctor bristle at this invitation.

“You did it last year, you said so. And you might as well because Mum always cooks enough for twenty,” Donna protested.

With a sigh and a silent exchange of conversation, the Doctor finally sighed and opened the TARDIS door to allow Kayla to step inside before he started to speak to Donna with: “Oh, all right then. But you go first, better warn them. And...don't say we’re Martian,” he then grinned sheepishly and indicated the TARDIS, “Kayla and I just have to park her properly, she might drift off to the Middle Ages. We'll see you in a minute.”

He stepped into the TARDIS and shut the door. After a few seconds of just standing there, the Doctor joined Kayla at the console and started to help her fly the TARDIS away until…

“Doctor! Doctor!”

Kayla huffed and stopped the TARDIS and sent the Doctor out with a sharp look. “Blimey, you can shout,” he stated.

“Am I ever gonna see you again?”

Kayla grinned at the console and called back to the ginger, “If we’re lucky!”

The Doctor smiled back at his fiancé and then at the beaming Donna. “Thanks then, Donna -- good luck -- and just...be magnificent.”

Even from the console, Kayla could hear Donna laugh and reply: “I think I will, yeah.”

Shaking his head with a small chuckle, the Doctor retreated back into the TARDIS and shut the door.

“Is that all, then?” Kayla asked her fiancé.

The Doctor held up a finger and whirled around when Donna started to cry out once again, “Doctor?”

“Oh, what is it now??”

Donna gave him a sad smile. “That friend of yours...what was her name?”

It took a few seconds for the Doctor to reply. “Her name was Rose,” he grinned softly, “But I have Kayla now. And a baby.” Waving, he closed the doors to the TARDIS and nodded to Kayla to fly them away. And as always, she did.


	3. Interlude 1

Kayla sat next to the Doctor in the hospital area of the TARDIS. Having sworn that he knew exactly how to do this, the Doctor had set up the device needed for giving the brunette an ultrasound, and Kayla was ready for it.

The only problem, though it was quite small, was that the TARDIS kept fighting the couple on the machine. At first, when they had plugged it in, the TARDIS shuddered violently and sent the machine crashing to the floor and breaking. The Doctor had instantly scolded the TARDIS and had gone to get it repaired. This took a few days. And during this time Kayla got into a little trouble. This trouble was one of getting trapped in an alien spa and being unable to leave due to her pregnancy. While being in the spa was relaxing, getting shot at and having to protect her bloating stomach was not.

So they tried again, and the TARDIS got fussy and drained its fuel so that they had to make an emergency stop at the nearest rift and powered up. Kayla had gotten bored and somehow ended up in a mystery section of the library. By the time the Doctor got to her, she was deducing that her pinky was her pinky. For some reason, the Doctor was not amazed.

And then the next time they tried, and now it was just plain old, Kayla got a headache and refused to have the Doctor do it. So he sent her to bed and they had waited until now.

Now was the fourth time and both the Doctor and Kayla were ready. Nothing could stop them. Nothing at all…except for the TARDIS landing magically in the middle of London and forcing the Doctor to poke his head the door and then rush back in all excited.

“There’s a hospital! A hospital that is charged with power!” He practically squealed.

Kayla looked up from the bed, bored. “So?”

“Can we have your ultrasound there?”

For a second Kayla thought about throwing something at her annoying fiancée, but one pleading, puppy-dog eyed look from the Time Lord got her to huff and sit up.

“Fine, but you’re double checking it when we get back.”

The Doctor nodded obediently. “I’ll triple check it,” He vowed.

* * *

So, with an annoyed and pregnant Kayla in tow, the Doctor checked them in under, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Hark for a baby check up!’ And then, much to no one’s amusement except for the Doctor, he had written a small smiley face and, beaming at the tired nurse, stepped back and waited for something to happen. Because for some reason, whenever babies were involved the Doctor became a baby himself.

So then, grumpy from this trip, Kayla and the Doctor were led to the maternity ward and were waiting for them to _finally_ start scanning Kayla’s small little stomach when a lovely black woman stepped in and hissed, “We’re coming up in a few. Give you leave us a few patients?”

As if this was what she had been waiting for, the nurse practically skipped out of the room; the black woman waved and hurried off; and the Doctor and Kayla were left alone.

“Doctor….I’m going to kill you.”

“I know love, I know.


	4. Smith, Jones, and Harkness Pt. 1

**____**__Her hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, Kayla glared resentfully at the Doctor. “Couldn’t we have just gotten my ultrasound and leave?” The Time Lady hissed.

The Doctor gave Kayla a lopsided grin and leaned back in his hospital bed. He had, after realizing that the ultrasound would not take nearly enough time to for him to look around the hospital, the Doctor had made himself pass out.

The nurse staff had been sympathetic, of course, and assured Kayla, who was more exasperated than worried, that it happened very often and her ‘hubby’ would be fine.  And, before Kayla could assure them that he was going to be okay, they promised to keep him overnight. This was not pleasing to the brunette and had spent the night in the TARDIS.

But now it was the next day and Kayla was sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to a hospital bed that had the Doctor reclining in it. She wasn’t very happy; in fact, she was pissed, but it would look bad for a woman that looked more pregnant than she was to yell at her sick husband.

Because, as the Doctor had explained a while back, while she may be around 14 weeks pregnant, her body was functioning as someone who was 7 week pregnant, and she was bloating. That made her look even more pregnant than she actually was.

Before they could continue the conversation, however, the ward was suddenly crowded with a class of medical students with an old man in the lead that Kayla vaguely recognized as Dr. Stoker from the night before.

“Now then, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Smith, a very good morning to you. How are you today?”

The Doctor winked subtly at Kayla and then responded to the man with, “Aw, not so bad, still a bit, you know. Blah.”

Mr. Stoker turned to his class with a sigh. “John Smith, admitted yesterday with his wife for an ultrasound and passed out. Jones, why don't you see what you can find? Amaze me.”

The pretty young black woman from the other day smiled at Kayla and then to the Doctor. Stepping forwards, she started to take her equipment off.

“That wasn't very clever, running around outside, was it?” the woman, Jones something, asked.

The Doctor exchanged a look with Kayla and then looked at the woman, “Sorry?”

The woman shrugged and explained, “On Chancery Street this morning. You came up to me and took your tie off.”

“Really? What did I do that for?” the Doctor asked.

“He was here,” Kayla added.

The woman frowned. “Well, that's weird, cause it looked like you. Have you got a brother?”

The Doctor frowned and shook his head. “No, just Kayla and me…” He said wistfully.

“As time passes and I grow ever more infirm and weary, Miss Jones,” Mr. Stoker sighed suddenly.

Miss Jones nodded quickly. “Sorry. Right,” she apologized.

Leaning forwards, the woman put her stethoscope to the Doctor’s chest. For a second, she listened, but then her brow furrowed and she moved the stethoscope to the opposite side, which allowed her to hear the Doctor’s second heart.

Kayla, leaning forwards, placed a hand on Miss Jones. Startled, the woman nearly dropped the stethoscope. Instead, she looked over at Kayla and stared as the brunette _winked_ at her.

“I weep for further generations. Are you having trouble locating the heart, Miss Jones?” Mr. Stoker spoke, startling them all.

Miss Jones, shaking her head, looked over at her teacher. “Um. I don't know. Stomach cramps?” She offered.

Mr. Stoker sighed, “That is a symptom, not a diagnosis. And you rather failed basic techniques by not consulting first with the patient's chart.” Picking up said chart, he winced as he was violently shocked and dropped the clipboard.

“That happened to me this morning,” Miss Jones said.

“I had the same thing on the door handle.”

“And me, on the lift.”

Mr. Stoker turned to his group that had all spoken about their experiences and said, “That's only to be expected. There's a thunderstorm moving in and lightning is a form of static electricity, as was first proven by - anyone?”

Surprising everyone and making Kayla want to punch him, the Doctor spoke up and answered, “Benjamin Franklin.”

The teacher blinked. “Correct!”

The Doctor laughed and placed one of his hands over Kayla’s. “Our mate Ben, that was a day and a half. I got rope burns off that kite, and then I got soaked…but Kayla just got to take pictures….”

“Quite...” Mr. Stoker said softly.

The Doctor grinned and finished, “...and then I got electrocuted.”

His eyes widening, Mr. Stoker turned to the others behind him. “Moving on.”

Once the group was out of sight, Kayla glared at the Doctor. “Seriously? You _had_ to start talking about Ben? Now they think you’re insane!”

The Doctor frowned. “But it happened!”

Shaking her head, Kayla sighed at the Doctor’s stupidity.

* * *

It had been about two hours since the group had left, and an hour since the skeptical psychologist had exited the room while muttering about more tests. To the Doctor, it had been very funny, but to Kayla, it had been a nightmare.

Still, despite how either party felt the reason why they had come, a very strong current around the hospital, started to _strengthen_ even more. The Doctor, being the Doctor, took out a monitor and started to fiddle with it. But after several moments, he set the monitor down with a huff.

“Oh just give it to me,” Kayla huffed. Giving her a sulky look, the Doctor handed her the monitor and the brunette Time Lady started to fiddle with it. After several moments, she got up. “Come on. We gotta follow this.”

The Doctor obediently got up from the bed and followed Kayla as she confidently walked down several corridors. For a second, they both paused at the door to the kitchenette, which had the lovely black woman from before saying, “But listen, I tell you what we'll do. We tell Dad and Annalise to get there early, for about 7:30…”

And her voice was out of the couple’s earshot and they were at the end of the hallway.

“Oh my god,” Kayla whispered in a mixture of both awe and shock.

The Doctor squeezed the brunette’s hand. “It’s a teleport,” he stated.

Kayla nodded and, grabbing onto the side for support, she gave the Doctor a worried look. For the rain outside the window was no ordinary rain. Instead, the rain was going _up._

“Get ready,” the Doctor warned.

This was the last thing Kayla heard before she and the Doctor were thrown against the wall by a powerful shudder and all Kayla focused on was staying still and protecting her stomach. After several long moments, the shaking was over.

“Are you alright?” Kayla whispered to the Doctor though her face was still facing the wall.

The Doctor kissed her cheek and then said, “Yes.”

At his answer, Kayla relaxed quite a bit and slowly sat up with the Doctor quickly following. Briefly, the Time Lord placed a hand on her stomach, as if to check that the baby was still there. Once that fear was placated, the Doctor got to his feet and helped Kayla up.

Outside, it was no longer raining, though that was to be expected. Instead, it was dark, like night, and eerily still. The hospital was also oddly quiet. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath and waiting for someone to be the brave one and look out the window.

Of course the Doctor and Kayla looked out the window before anyone else, and they were only mildly surprised at the sight of the Moon’s landscape, of the Earth, of being _on_ the moon.

However, no one else seemed to share this feeling. While the start of the screaming was hard to pinpoint, someone _had_ to start screaming, and once that person started to scream it was quickly followed by everyone in the hospital.

Then once the screaming started, the pushing and shoving and running started. Someone had obviously thought that if they looked out a different window the Moon would be Earth again, but this wasn’t going to happen. That didn’t stop people from continuing to run around and scream at each other.

“Ward. Now.” The Doctor ordered. Grabbing the brunette’s hand, he pulled her behind him to their ward, which was harder than it sounds. Everyone seemed to be running downstairs, and the two were running through the screaming mass.

But luck seemed to be on their side, which never happened to either of them, and the two made it to their ward with no harm.

Breathing hard, the Doctor made sure Kayla was settled in the chair by his bed and was about to start getting dressed when the same woman who had been talking earlier came into the room and started to walk very quickly to the window.

“All right, everyone back to bed, we've got an emergency but we'll sort it out,” the woman ordered almost distractedly

The Doctor eyed for a moment and shared a look with Kayla.

_“I think she might do,”_ the Doctor muttered as he pulled the curtains around them. _‘She has medical training and can keep her cool.’_

Kayla shrugged and threw the Doctor his shirt almost lazily at him. _‘But we don’t really need a companion, do we?’_

_‘Not really, but it would be nice to have someone with us.’_

Sighing, Kayla leaned back into the chair and soaked up the last few moments of relaxation before the Doctor nodded to her and pulled back the curtain to reveal his fully clothed, blue suited self. “Very good point! Brilliant, in fact. What was your name?”

There were two women now in the ward. One was hysterical and pressed against the wall while the other one, the one that Kayla assumed the Doctor was talking to, looked confused. “Martha,” she answered all the same.

The Doctor nodded and threw the curtain wide open. “And it was Jones, wasn't it?” he asked, almost eagerly. The woman, Martha Jones, nodded, and made the Doctor grin at Kayla. “Well then, Martha Jones, the question is, how are we still breathing?”

“We can't be!” the hysterical woman on the floor cried out.

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Obviously we are so don't waste our time,” She sniped almost automatically before turning to Martha Jones. “Martha, what have we got? Is there a balcony on this floor, or a veranda, or...?”

Martha’s brow furrowed for a second as she thought. “By the patients' lounge, yeah.”

The Doctor waggled his arms and nudged Kayla. “Fancy going out?” He asked both Martha and Kayla.

“Okay,” Martha said with a small grin.

Kayla raised an eyebrow. “We might die.” _‘She’s probably suicidal.’_

Martha shrugged. “We might not.”

_‘No she isn’t!’_

The Doctor took Kayla’s hand. “Good! C'mon. Not her, she'd hold us up.”

And as the three left, four if you counted Kayla’s child, the other woman sobbed on the floor.

* * *

They found the patience lounge quickly and Kayla was the first one out. She breathed in and then grinned as she exhaled. “Clean but already thin,” she stated.

Martha was less practical with her assessment. “We've got air!” She paused to breathe in a lungful and then frowned and looked at her two companions. “How does that work?”

The Doctor shrugged and looked around. “Just be glad it does,” he remarked.

_‘She’s about to break,’_ Kayla mentally warned as she watched Martha carefully.

Sure enough, the black woman grabbed onto the railing and looked distantly at Earth. “I've got a party tonight. It's my brother's twenty-first. My mother's going to be really...really…”

“You okay?” The Doctor asked quickly when Martha’s voice started to break with emotion.

Martha nodded quickly. “Yeah.”

Kayla frowned and eyed the girl. “You sure?” she pressed.

Martha laughed nervously and looked at the two. “Yeah,” she repeated.

“Want to go back in?” the Doctor offered.

Martha shook her head. “No way. I mean, we could die any minute, but all the same - it's beautiful.”

The Doctor nudged Kayla and arched his eyebrow. _‘See,’_ he asked Kayla mentally while vocally he asked Martha, “You think?”

“How many people want to go to the moon? And here we are!” Martha cheered.

The Doctor nodded. “Standing in the earthlight,” he put in.

Martha sighed and looked out at the Earth and then back at the Moon. “What do you think happened?”

Once again, she was nudged by the Doctor. Giving him the stink eye, Kayla asked Martha, “What do _you_ think?”

Surprisingly, the black woman quickly answered. “Extraterrestrial. It's got to be. I don't know, a few years ago that would have sounded man, but these days? That spaceship flying into Big Ben - Christmas - those Cybermen things,” At the topic of the Cybermen, the Doctor and Kayla froze, and so did Martha. “I had a cousin. Adeola. She worked at Canary Wharf. She never came home.”

Kayla vaguely recognized the name and bit her lip. “I’m sorry,” she apologized.

“We both are,” the Doctor added.

Bowing her head for a moment, Kayla looked at Martha almost wistfully. “We were there. In the battle.”

Looking uncomfortable, Martha looked away and took several moments to control herself. But she was soon looking back at the couple. “I promise you, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, we will find a way out. If we can travel to the moon, then we can travel back. There's got to be a way.”

At the surname, the Doctor wrinkled his nose and Kayla groaned. “It's not Smith, that's not our real names.”

“Who are you then?” Martha asked.

Kayla glanced at the Doctor and nodded her head only a slight bit. This made the Doctor grin. “I’m the Doctor,” he started, “and this Kayla, my fiancée.”

Martha nodded. “Me too, if I can pass my exams. What is it, then, Doctor Smith?” she asked.

“Just the Doctor.”

Martha shook her head in confusion. “How do you mean, just the Doctor?”

Kayla sighed. “It’s literally just the Doctor. His name is Doctor.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor added in.

Martha shook her head. “What, people call you ‘Doctor?’”

“Yes!” Kayla all but snapped.

“Well, I'm not. As far as I'm concerned, you've got to earn that title,” Martha huffed.

This statement made Kayla roll her eyes and the Doctor sulk a bit before he replied, “Well, I'd better make a start, then. Let's have a look,” giving the two women a grin, he picked up a pebble and threw it at the force field. As they both had suspected, it bounced off.

“There must be some sort of force field keeping the air in,” Kayla remarked, her brow furrowed. “Who would have the strength to do that?” Pondering this, she looked around at the others. “And what happens when it runs out?”

The Doctor froze and turned to Martha. “How many people in this hospital?”

Martha blinked and then shrugged. “I don't know, a thousand?”

Very slowly, the Doctor placed his hand on Kayla’s stomach and drew her in. “One thousand people. Suffocating,” he said darkly.

“Why would anyone do that?” Martha asked, her eyes wide and horrified.

Kayla suddenly nodded at the sky. “Why don’t you ask them yourself? They’re here now.”

A giant, tall spaceship, much like a skyscraper, landed on the Moon’s surface.

Kayla hissed at the ship. “Damn it, not them.”

The Doctor squeezed her shoulder. “Aren’t you still on the record for the Time Agency?” He asked quietly.

The brunette shrugged. “I have no idea what time period they came from.”

Martha, however, had a different approach to the aliens then Kayla and the Doctor. “Aliens. That's aliens. Real, proper aliens,” the black woman gasped.

“Judoon,” the Doctor corrected in a darker tone than usual.


	5. Smith, Jones, and Harkness Pt. 2

To Kayla, running to the small platform on the second floor that overlooked the first floor was not fun experience, and she made sure the Doctor was well aware of this.

_‘I hate you, have I mentioned that?’_

_‘This is the third time, dear.’_

_‘But I still hate you.’_

Martha, who was panting hard but otherwise quiet looked around at the silent couple that seemed to be exchanging multiple glances.

“Are you guys having a silent conversation?” She asked half-jokingly.

“Yes,” Kayla snapped huffily.

Martha blinked and then eyed the pregnant woman. “You’re 14 weeks, right? You okay?” she questioned, figuring that it was the pregnancy that was making her head a bit messed up.

Instead of answering immediately, Kayla glanced at the Doctor and got a subtle nod that made her scowl. _‘Fine,’_ she replied to the Doctor mentally, _‘But only a practice trip after this.’_

The Doctor beamed and then turned to Martha. “Actually,” he started, “Kayla is 7 weeks pregnant.”

Martha blinked and then bluntly eyed Kayla’s stomach. “Are you just really bloated?” she finally asked.

“No, I have a 64 week pregnancy,” and then, at the shocked and horrified and concerned expression on Martha’s face, Kayla added, “The Doctor and I are aliens.”

“Time Lords, to be exact,” the Doctor put in.

Looking skeptical Martha pushed open the door to the second floor and then opened her mouth to reply...only to have the Doctor’s hand blocking it. Without speaking, he pointed to a potted plan that was large enough to vaguely hide them. Martha gave him a nod and he removed his hand and then wiped his hand off.

* * *

Once Martha was behind the plant, which took only a few seconds, the Doctor had Kayla who was fiddling with her dress, sneak across as well.

Then, once the Doctor had also snuck across, the three looked down at the first floor just in time to see the Judoon enter the hospital. The people on the ground, mostly workers, started to run and cower. This did nothing. Instead, the Judoon at the front took off his helmet to reveal a rhinoceros head. This made people shriek and cower, something that Kayla could understand. These people had just been transported to the moon, had a troop of aliens marching towards them, and had seen the alien itself.

For a moment, Kayla placed a hand on her stomach and thought about all the other children here and their mothers. If all did not go well, as it usually did when it came to the Doctor, multiple people, especially babies, would die. And it would be the Judoon’s fault.

It was at this point that Kayla got very pissed off. Enough so that the Doctor looked over at her with clear worry and squeezed her hand tightly for both comfort and for a warning. She had to stay calm.

Getting the message, Kayla bit her lip hard enough to draw a small amount of blood. While it wasn’t the best way and the Doctor clearly didn’t approve by the way he touched his own bottom lip, it did calm Kayla down enough to be able to listen.

“Please don’t hurt me, I was just trying to help, I’m sorry, don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me,” someone, a male with freakishly pale skin and an understandable stammer, had cried out when the Chief Judoon had pressed a translator that looked a bit like a torch. Pressing a button, a blue light was flashed in the poor man’s face. After a moment, the Judoon moved the translator nearer to his own face and pressed the same button. Instantly, the man’s words were echoed back to the Judoon. Once this was done, the alien put the translator down.

“Language assimilated. Designation: Earth English. You will be catalogued,” the Judoon said in its own deep voice. Looking even more terrified, the man once again had the translator thrust into his face. Like before, a blue light was flashed at him, but then something new happened. A happyish noise came from it and the Judoon grunted in what could be described as approval.

“Category: human,” at this point, the Judoon paused and made a little ‘x’ on the man’s right hand before letting him go and turning to his troops, “Catalogue all suspects.”

At this order all the Judoon, including the Chief one without his helmet, started to grab people and scan them. When each scan showed that the people were human, the Judoon would grunt out, “Human,” and put a cross on their right hand.

“Oh look down there, you’ve got a little shop. I like a little shop,” the Doctor said suddenly while nudging Kayla.

While the brunette just shook her head as she was used to such sidetracking, Martha snapped, “Never mind that! What are Judoon?!”

“Galactic police,” the Doctor said at the same time as Kayla saying, “Thugs.”

Martha blinked. “Sorry?”

“Thugs,” Kayla repeated, “Really stupid, interplanetary thugs.”

The Doctor shrugged at this and mentally asked the brunette, _‘Do you not like them?’_

_‘If they find out I’m a Time Agent they’ll use me as target practice.’_

At this, the Time Lord shot out a strong amount of anger. This time, it was Kayla who calmed him down while Martha just stared at the suddenly angrily Doctor in shock.

“Is he...is he okay?” the black doctor-in-training asked carefully.

Kayla sighed and nodded. “He’s fine, but I’m surprised you haven’t asked that many questions,” she pointed out.

“Why the moon?” Martha asked, unsure if this would be the right question and a bit shocked that Kayla was talking to her so...civilly and not as terse and snappish as she usually did.

The brunette shook her head at Martha’s question and quickly answered it. “It’s neutral territory according to galactic law, which the Judoon follow. On the moon, as long as they follow common laws it’s neutral territory for everyone.”

Martha nodded and then looked in between the Doctor and Kayla. “What were they doing down there?”

“Cataloguing everyone to make sure they’re human,” Kayla explained.

“Then what about you two? What does it mean?”

“It means that coming here was a mistake, and that’s why,” the Doctor said suddenly while motioning to the mess of Judoon and humans below. Turning to Kayla, he took one of her hands and squeezed it tightly. “We should have just stayed in the TARDIS.”

“But we’re here now so let’s save these people,” Kayla replied instantly.

Hugging her, the Doctor nodded to the stairs. “Come on, then,” he said though he still looked very troubled.

* * *

Once up the stairs, the three ran out onto one of the higher floors. Not wasting any time to look around, the two ran into one of the many offices on that floor. Inside the office, Kayla and the Doctor instantly set to work and Martha, feeling useless, went to go check on the Judoon.

* * *

“They’ve reached the third floor,” Martha reported to the two when she came back. “What’s that thing?” she asked.

The Doctor paused in sonicing the computer for files and Kayla looked up from fiddling with the plug. “Sonic screwdriver,” the two answered together.

Martha huffed. “Well, if you two aren’t going to answer me properly,” she snapped.

Kayla sighed and straightened up. “No, it is actually a screwdriver that is sonic as well.”

Taking that surprisingly well, Martha eyed the sonic for a few moments. “What else have you two got? A laser spanner?” Martha asked semi-sarcastically because at this point she wouldn’t be surprised if the answer was a positive.

Instead, she got the brunette sighing and giving her the stink-eye and the Doctor rambling. “I did, but it was stolen by Emily Pankhurst and Kayla slapped her for being so cheeky,” pausing in his story, the doctor whacked the computer. “Oh, this computer! The Judoon must have locked it down. Judoon platoon upon the moon,” he finished with a grumble.

Kayla turned to the Doctor and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “It’s not your fault,” she reminded to him and then turned back to Martha. “He feels guilty because we were just wandering and the Doctor noticed the plasma coils around the building.”

“I thought something was going on inside, it turns out the plasma coils were the Judoon above,” the Doctor finished, and then placed his hand on Kayla’s stomach. “And now I’ve endangered my Bonded and our child.”

Martha frowned, “But it’s like Kayla said, it isn’t your fault. Besides, how can you guys be in any danger? Don’t they know what type of alien they’re looking for?”

Kayla shook her head. “They’re just looking for an alien that’s not human but looks human...that isn’t us. And I’m a Time Agent. Judoons and Time Agents...they don’t get along,” Kayla stated and then broke off as the Doctor suddenly hugged her and kissed her gently.

Feeling like an intruder of their private moment, Martha stared at the floor until Kayla cleared her throat. “Sorry,” she apologized, “We aren’t use to someone else being with us…”

Martha quickly nodded. “I understand,” she replied in a way that added a few brownie points. “Just keep working. I’ll go ask Mr. Stoker, he might know someone who’s been acting off.” And with that, she ran out and left the two alone.

“What do you think of her?” the Doctor questioned hopefully.

Kayla shrugged and placed a hand on her stomach. “I know I’m being really snappy, but she’s doing really well.”

“But do you think she’ll fit well in the TARDIS?”

“Are you saying I’m gaining weight?”

“What?! No!! But-”

Kayla quickly cut the Doctor off with a soft kiss. “I’m just joking dear. Martha seems like an interesting person and she’ll fit in well with the two of us...as long as you don’t flirt with her.”

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Kayla. “There’s only one person I’d ever flirt with, and that’s you.”

Grinning, they kissed again just as Martha barged into the room. “Stop kissing! I found her!”

Pulling apart, Kayla looked at the woman. “Found...what?”

“I found her,” Martha repeated, and then looked pointed at something behind her. “And there are these leather guys-”

“Slabs,” Kayla cut in quickly.

“Run!!” The Doctor yelled needlessly. But it was sound advice, so the three did.

* * *

Huffing down the stairs, the threesome skidded onto the fourth floor only to swivel away at the sight of Judoon marching towards them.

Noticing a sign, Kayla called out _‘Radiology!’_ mentally and the Doctor nodded and made for the room with the two others following.

“When I say ‘now,’ press the button,” the Doctor instructed immediately upon arrival.

“Which button?” Kayla pointed out while motioning to the complicated panel of buttons.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair helplessly. “Find out!” he advised and then started to fiddle with the MRI machine using his sonic screwdriver.

Growling under her breath, Kayla grabbed Martha and dragged her behind the glass that would hopefully block the radiation from them. Of course, the control panel was a mess of almost all buttons. Martha instantly grabbed the Operator’s Manual and started to flip through it rapidly while Kayla just eyed down a giant red button with a warning symbol on it and waited.

On the other side of the glass, a Slab broke down the door. “Now!” the Doctor yelled at the sight of it and the two women slammed down on the same button.

For a brief, horrible, second, nothing happened. But then, the Slab was zapped with radiation and Kayla winced at the Doctor’s skeleton becoming visible and an itching sensation that spread all over her body. Thankfully, though, the Doctor seemed uninjured while the Slab fell over, inert.

“What did you do?” Martha gasped.

“Increased the radiation by five thousand percent. Killed him dead,” the Doctor explained with more pride than anyone should have in their own actions.

“Isn’t that likely to kill you?” Martha pointed out and then glanced over at Kayla who seemed fairly relaxed.

Instead of looking worried, the Doctor laughed and beckoned the two of them out. “Nah, it’s only radiation. We used to play with roentgen bricks in the nursery.”

Kayla stepped out carefully but kept a safe distance from the Time Lord. “Not our child,” she stated.

“Yes dear,” the Doctor agreed instantly. “You coming out? It’s safe cause I absorbed it all,” the Doctor told Martha.

Hesitantly, Martha walked out. Upon seeing that she wasn’t dying from radiation, she headed into the room a bit more.

Grinning widely at this, the Doctor turned to Kayla. “I just need to expel it to a point,” he informed her.

“Do the shoes,” Kayla suggested, “They’re falling apart anyways.”

The Doctor nodded at this before he started to bounce, hop, and explain himself at the same time. “If I concentrate I can shake the radiation out of my body and into one spot. It’s in my left shoe. Here we go, here we go, easy does it,” the Doctor, at this point, started to shake his left foot violently.

“Out...out...out...out...out. Out...out...ah...ah...ah...ah...It is...it is...it is...it is...it is hot. Ah - hold on,” pausing in his complaining, the Doctor removed his shoe and threw it into the dust pins. “Done,” the Doctor finished.

Grinning, Kayla hurried over and kissed him. Once that important task was done, the two turned to the gaping Martha. “Well?” Kayla asked.

After a long pause, Martha closed her mouth to swallow hard. “You two are completely mad!”

Kayla laughed, “You get over it,” and simply stepped back to the eye the Doctor. “One shoe?” She pointed out.

“Right,” the Doctor agreed, “I look daft without one shoe.” And with that, he took off his remaining shoe and threw it out as well. “Barefoot on the moon!” He cheered with a wide grin.

Martha blinked, shrugged, and then decided that someone should actually do something worthwhile and went over to the dead Slab. “So what is that thing? And where’s it from? The planet Zovirax?”

“It’s just a Slab. They’re literally called ‘Slabs,’” Kayla replied and kicked the Slab. “It’s a basic slave drone made entirely out of leather.”

“Someone has a hell of a fetish,” the Doctor remarked from the MRI machine. In response, Kayla groaned.

“It came with that woman, Mrs. Finnegan. It was working for her. Just like a servant,” Martha explained to the brunette.

“My sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor suddenly said. In his hands were the burned bits of hissonic screwdriver.

“She was one of the patients, but-”

“My sonic screwdriver!”

“She had a straw like some kind of vampire.”

“I loved my sonic screwdriver!”

“Doctor!” Martha and Kayla snapped at the same time.

Not looking as sheepish as he should have, the Doctor tossed the bits away and then grinned widely. “You called me ‘Doctor,’” he informed Martha proudly.

Shrugging, the black woman gave the Doctor her best annoyed look. “Anyways! Mrs. Finnegan is the alien. She was drinking Mr. Stoker’s blood.”

Processing this, the Doctor tilted his head in thought. Funny time to take a snack. You’d think she’d be hiding. Unless-no. Yes, that’s it, wait a minute. Yes!”

“What is it Doctor? And how do you think that fast? It’s giving me a headache!” Kayla snapped and then frowned. “Sorry,” she apologized.

“The Doctor just hugged her tightly. “It’s fine,” he brushed it off and then kissed her temple. Only after this did he seem to remember what he had thought about before and turned to Martha. “She’s an internal shape-changer. She wasn’t drinking blood, she was assimilating it.”

Kayla suddenly froze. “IF she’s assimilating blood from a human then they’ll never know. We gotta try and explain it to the Judoon! And if they don’t listen then we’ll do something to show them!”

The Doctor frowned slightly, sensing something in Kayla’s mind that she was hiding, but still grabbed her hand. “Come on!” He shouted at Martha and the three ran out.

* * *

They didn’t get very far. Only a few spots out, they had to crouch by a water cooler as the other Slab walked past them. “That’s the thing about Slabs,” the Doctor started as he helped Kayla up, “They always travel in pairs.”

“But they’re thick,” Kayla remarked with a grin to the Doctor.

Pouting, because ‘thick’ was _his_ word, the Doctor helped Martha up. She promptly asked, “What about you two?”

“What about us?” Kayla questioned.

“Well, why bring someone pregnant? Don’t you guys have back-up or something?”

The Doctor shook his head. “Kayla’s the entire backup I need.”

“But still,” Kayla put in, “You’re on the moon helping an alien couple and we’re evading the Judoon while trying to catch a bloodsucking alien, and we’re running out of air, but the human asks personal questions.”

The Doctor laughed and hugged Kayla with one arm briefly. “Come on, dear.”

“I like that, ‘the human,’” Martha said from behind the two, “I’m still not convinced you two are aliens.”

Kayla suddenly cursed under her breath and threw an arm out to stop Martha. The Doctor and Kayla and Martha hadn’t paid attention and they had accidentally run into a Judoon without a plan.

Mechanically, the hooded Judoon shone his blue light in Kayla’s face. “Non-human,” it grunted, “Time Agent!”

“Oh my god, you two really are!”

The Doctor grabbed Kayla by the hand. “And again!” He shouted, and the three sprinted to the stairs and ran up them with the Judoon shooting at them. Kayla shoved open a door and Martha locked it, which earned her an approving nod from the brunette.

* * *

In the corridor, Kayla could feel the air thinning. Time Lord biology allowed her to have larger lungs, but other people weren’t so lucky. Everyone in the hallway were slumped on the ground, gasping for breath.

Looking just as bothered as Kayla felt, the Doctor squeezed her hand before he began to talk. “They’ve done this floor. Come on. The Judoon are logical and just a little bit thick. They won’t go back to check a floor they’ve checked already,” he paused and frowned, “If we’re lucky.”

Kayla looked back to check on Martha but saw the black woman paused and speaking to the hysterical girl from earlier. “How much oxygen is there?” Kayla heard Martha ask in a soft voice.

The woman looked up from the young patient she was helping and shook her head. “Not enough for all these people. We’re going to run out.”

Kayla stepped forwards and placed a hand on Martha’s shoulder, which made the black woman turn. “How are you feeling? Are you alright?”

Martha seemed to struggle with a reply. Finally, she grinned a smile bit. “I’m running on adrenaline.”

“Welcome to this world,” Kayla said and then hugged the Doctor as she had been doing for most of that floor.

“What about the Judoon?” Martha asked.

The Doctor eyed her, confused, but Kayla shook her head. “Great big lung reserves. No air will do anything.”

“Where’s Mr. Stoker’s office?” the Doctor suddenly asked.

“It’s this way,” Martha replied. Starting off, the couple followed her.

* * *

Inside Stoker’s office, Martha was looking around. “She’s gone! She was here.”

Kayla turned to her. “Did you expect her to stay around him?” She asked while motioning to Mr. Stoker’s body, which the Doctor was examining.

“Drained him dry. Every last drop. I was right. She’s a plasmavore,” the Doctor said as he got up and joined the brunette.

“What was she doing on Earth?” Martha asked.

Kayla tilted her head in thought. “She’s on the run and hiding.”

“Like Ronald Biggs in _Rio de Janeiro_ ,” the Doctor put in.

“Yes dear,” Kayla agreed quickly, “But what is she doing now? The Judoon could execute us all-”

“Execute us ALL?!” Martha suddenly cried out.

Not very surprised by this outburst, Kayla gave Martha a hopefully comforting smile. “The Judoon will only do that if they have complete proof that she’s here but they didn’t find her. It rarely happens.”

“But we don’t know if there’s proof, which means she doesn’t know if there’s proof so she’s still not safe,” the Doctor added in, and then sighed and shook his head. “Come on, let’s keep looking.”

“Wait a minute,” Martha spoke up and went over to Mr. Stoker. Kneeling down, she closed the man’s eyes and then got up.

Kayla gave her a small smile. “That was nice,” she remarked and then left with the Doctor. Behind them, Martha turned off the lights and closed the door.

“Alright, she started, “What now?”

Kayla turned to Martha. “If you were an alien on the run from the police, what would you do?”

Martha blinked, surprised and being quizzed yet again, but soon scanned the area. After a moment she pointed at the MRI sign. “I would try to take them with me if I was that...thing.”

Kayla clapped her hands together, kissed the Doctor, and then froze at the sound of the Judoon’s yelling, “Find the Time Agent! Get her!”

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair. “Stay here. We need time.”

“You’ll have to hold them up. Here,” Kayla quickly took the Doctor’s jacket off and hugged it to herself before she handed it to Martha. “Just wear it.”

Martha nodded and the couple ran off. “This will be nothing after A&E,” Martha muttered, “Nothing.”

* * *

In the MRI room, Florence the alien was standing in front of the MRI machine. Of course it was making weird noises and of course, Florence was working the machine.

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged a glance and the brunette nodded. Deliberately, she placed a hand on her stomach and the Doctor wrapped his arm around her. Looking like a normal, young couple, the two started their plan.

“Have you seen,” at the Doctor’s voice, Florence whirled around, “there are these things, those great big space rhino things, I mean rhinos from space.”

While Florence tilted her head to study the two, Kayla continued from where the Doctor left off, “And, we’re on the moon! Great big space rhinos with _guns_ on the moon.”

The Doctor nodded shakily and placed his hand over Kayla’s on her stomach. “We only came for Junior’s ultrasound but one of the nurses saw my bunions-“

“Show her, dear,” Kayla interrupted. Nodding, the Doctor held up one of his feet. “Perfectly good treatment,” the brunette remarked.

“I said to my wife, didn’t I?”

“Oh yes, he said ‘he’d recommend this place to anyone,’” Kayla stated.

“But then we ended up on the moon. And did I mention rhinos?” the Doctor finished.

All through this exchange, Florence appeared very annoyed. Once she sensed that the two were done, she ordered to her Slab, “Hold him,” and then, as an afterthought, “Hold the girl back as well.” After a slight struggle, which was more of the Doctor telling the Slab to, ‘Mind the wife’s stomach,’ Florence went back to fiddling with the machine and ignoring the couple.

“That thing, that big machine thing, is it supposed to be making that noise? Only the wife is pregnant with Junior here ad she might have to go somewhere else,” the Doctor remarked.

Florence turned towards the two briefly. “You wouldn’t understand,” she dismissed.

“Isn’t that a magnetic resonance imaging thing? Like a ginormous sort of magnet?” Kayla asked carefully.

The Doctor nodded. “We did magnets at GCSE. Well, I failed and she passed, but all the same.”

Florence sighed, “The magnetic setting is now set to 50,000 Tesla,” she explained.

“But that’s rather strong, isn’t it?” Kayla pointed out.

“I can send out a magnetic pulse that will fry the brain-stems of every living thing within 250,000 miles. _Except_ for me and the brunette. We’ll be safe in this room,” Florence explained.

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged quick, worried looks. Their plan revolved around the Doctor and Kayla being eaten, not just the Doctor.

“Why will I be safe and he won’t be?” Kayla asked.

Florence laughed softly before she answered. “You’re my dessert. Once your child is born I’ll eat you both. Until then you and I will make our escape on the Judoons’ ships.”

Kayla bit her lip. “You’re talking like some sort of alien,” she accused.

“Right-o,” Florence replied.

“No!” the couple gasped together, rather surprised she had given up this information so soon.

Florence smirked at their shock. “Oh yes.”

The Doctor shook his head. “You’re joshing us,” he accused.

“I am not,” Florence disagreed with a shake of her head.

“Has this place got an ET department?” Kayla joked weakly.

Florence just shrugged. “It’s the perfect hiding place. Blood banks downstairs for a midnight feast, and all this equipment to protect myself with should the police come looking,” she explained, and Kayla had to admit. The woman had _seriously_ thought this out well. And by the tattoo she could see faintly on the woman’s neck, the brunette was near positive that she was a Time Agent.

Sending this thought to the Doctor, she watched as the Time Lord’s mouth dropped open. Thankfully, he seemed to recover his wits quickly enough to stammer out, “So, those rhinos, they’re looking for you?”

“Yes, but I’m hidden from those _thugs,”_ Florence finished with a sneer on her face.

Kayla glanced over at the Doctor before she started. “But the big head rhino said, ‘no sign of non-human/Time Agent, we must increase our scans to…setting two?’”

The Doctor quickly nodded. “Setting two,” he agreed.

For a moment, it seemed that it had not worked and Florence had seen through this lie. However, the minute she paled a small bit, the two knew they were okay. “I must assimilate again,” she said more to herself in a tone that was hard.

“What does that mean?” the Doctor asked.

Florence glared at him and took out a straw. Very slowly, she started to walk towards him. “Steady him,” she ordered the Slab.

The Slab pushed the Doctor to his knees and Kayla backed up quickly while her eyes scanned the room. She couldn’t _kill_ the woman, that might make the Judoon target her. But she couldn’t risk the Doctor _dying._ Especially if that meant she might die. The baby was the most important thing to them.

It was at this point, while the Doctor stammered out pleas, that Kayla noticed the small room. Allowing herself a brief grin, she started for the room in a slow manner. All the while, she watched as Florence started to stick her straw into the Doctor’s throat-

“Hey Florence!” Kayla yelled, which made the woman pause and look over at the brunette, who was behind the glass. “Word of advice, don’t mess with a couple who has sonics.” Holding her own sonic screwdriver and an old one, she leaned around the glass and threw them at the MRI machine which would hopefully save them. And then, while Florence screamed for her Slab to grab her, she banged down on the red button from before.

There was a bright flash, and Florence cried out in agony. Kayla heard yells from outside as the hospital shook.  And then…it was still.

For a second, Kayla remained in the crouch position she had gotten into when the hotel started to shake. She peered out of the glass to see the Doctor sitting up with a groan. On the floor near him was the dead Slab and a very dead Florence.

Before he could get much time to react however, the door was nearly broken down by the Judoon and a very worried Martha. The Doctor got to his feet fairly quickly and pressed himself against the wall while Kayla remained in the side room.

The Chief Judoon, who was still not wearing his helmet, scanned Florence and pronounced her not only a Time Agent, but the alien they had been looking for. A lesser Judoon picked up the dead body and started to march out of the room and presumably the hotel.

Martha, her eyes wide, looked at the Doctor, who was starting to grin, and Kayla, who was only now leaving the room. “What happened?”

“It’s a long story,” Kayla sighed, and then placed a hand on her stomach. “Doctor, do you think you’re jacket could work?”

The Doctor frowned and then held his hand out. Puzzled, it took Martha a moment. Then she went, “Oh,” and handed the Time Lord his jacket.

Carefully, the Doctor slipped it on and started to put all the radiation, which was quite a bit, into the jacket. So focused on his task, he didn’t notice the air thinning until Martha suddenly gasped loudly and fell to the floor with Kayla following.

As the world went dark, the Doctor heard Martha cry out, “Doctor! It’s Kayla!” the Time Lord whirled around and ran to her just as Kayla’s closed her eyes.

“The Judoon will fix it,” he stated, and then placed a hand on her stomach, “They have to.”

And the Judoon did. The Doctor heard the clap of thunder just as they were transported back to Earth.

* * *

Later, in the TARDIS, Kayla once again stopped the Doctor from starting the ultrasound. “I want Martha to do it,” she explained.

The Doctor gave Kayla a bright smile. “If that’s what you want then we’ll find her.”

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Kayla waited by the TARDIS until the Doctor arrived. The brunette leaned against the wall and pulled down a wrinkled ‘Vote Saxon’ sign and studied it before she tossed it away. As the voice started to rise, Kayla winced and then bit her lip when she saw a blonde woman stomp away with an older black man following her.

The Doctor suddenly arrived and leaned against the wall next to her. He gave her a smile while Martha walked into the alleyway. “I went to the moon today,” Martha stated.

The Doctor nodded. “A bit more peaceful than down here,” he noted dryly.

Kayla grinned. “So that was that noise,” she remarked and then looked over to Martha. “Your family is quite loud.”

Martha just rolled her eyes. “You two never told me who two you are,” she pointed out.

“I’m the Doctor and Kayla Hark is my wonderful Bonded and fiancé,” the Doctor answered.

“What sort of species?” Martha pushed, “I know you guys already told me but still, it’s not every day I get to ask that.”

Kayla arched an eyebrow but answered anyways. “We’re Time Lords, though I’m a Time Lady.”

Martha grinned, “So you _weren’t_ making up a pompous name?”

Kayla laughed loudly while the Doctor just pouted. “It is,” she agreed, “But since you saved our lives-“

“And we’ve gotten brand new sonic screwdrivers that need road testing,” the Doctor cut in.

Used to this kind of interrupting, Kayla just sighed before she continued, “Would you like to travel with us?”

Martha’s mouth fell open and she blinked rapidly. “What, into space?”

“Well…” Kayla said with a shrug.

Martha shook her head. “I can’t. I’ve got exams. I’ve got things to do. I have to go into town first thing and pay the rent, I’ve got my family going mad…” as her voice trailed off, Martha shook her head once more.

“If it helps,” Kayla started, “the TARDIS stands for: Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.” At the blank look, Kayla sighed and shook her head. “It can travel in space _and_ time.”

“Get out of here,” Martha gasped, her eyes wide.

“It’s true,” the Doctor said.

“Come on now, that’s going too far,” the black woman protested.

Grinning, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand. “We’ll prove it,” he stated and ran into the TARDIS. After a few moments they took off.

* * *

Kayla threw open the TARDS door and nodded at the sidewalk where they could see Martha on the phone.

The Doctor smirked and walked straight to the black woman. “Like so,” he cried out and took off his tie.

Kayla rolled her eyes next to him. “Sorry, it’ll make sense later.”

Martha blinked and then watched as the two walked away. Shrugging, she headed off for another boring day of work.

The Doctor and Kayla, however, hurried back to the TARDIS and carefully piloted back to the alley they had left Martha in.

“Told you!” the Doctor yelled as he left the TARDIS.

As she had done earlier, Kayla rolled her eyes. “Does it makes sense now?”

Martha blinked. “I know, but…that was this morning! But-Did you…Oh, my God! You can travel in time!”

The Doctor arched an eyebrow and Kayla sighed, “That’s what we said.”

“But hold on, if you could see me this morning, why didn’t you tell me not to go into work?” Martha asked suddenly.

“Crossing into established events is strictly forbidden,” the Doctor started.

“Unless you know what you’re doing…or for cheap tricks,” Kayla finished with a small smile.

Martha just decided to nod and move on. “And that's your spaceship?”

“Yep. It doesn’t look like much but…well just open the door,” Kayla explained.

Laughing, Martha opened the door and then gasped. For a second, the woman just stared while Kayla and the Doctor followed her in and leaned against the opening. “Oh, no, no,” Martha muttered and ran out of the TARDIS to run around it. “But it's just a box. But it's huge. How does it do that? It's wood.” She ran back into the ship and shook her head. “It's like a box with that room just rammed in. It's bigger on the inside.”

Having mouth the last part with her, Kayla laughed and shook her head. “Is it? I hadn't noticed.”

The Doctor grinned and closed the door behind Martha. Taking his long coat off, he threw it over a railing and, grabbing Kayla’s hand, ran with her to the console. “All right, then, let's get going.”

Martha frowned. “But is there a crew? Like a navigator and stuff? Where is everyone?” she pointed out.

“It’s just us,” the Doctor answered, and then smiled over at Kayla. “Just us and our future child.”

“Speaking of our child,” Kayla started, “Martha will you please do us the honor of doing my ultrasound?”

Her eyes widening, Martha nodded. “Of course I will.”

“Then welcome aboard Miss Jones.

“Likewise, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Harkness.”


	6. Interlude 2

It took a short amount of time for Martha to be ready, but to Kayla and the Doctor it felt like forever. They had already waited so long to see a glimpse of their child and as it got closer every second felt too long.

But thankfully, Martha walked in, looking like a professional doctor…who was also nervous and excited. Grabbing a stethoscope from the bedside table, she blew on it and placed it against the usual side of a heart. As she had suspected, she heard an echo of the other heart and moved the stethoscope over.

The Doctor squeezed Kayla’s hand, growing more restless as the other normal producers went on, but finally Martha stopped and pulled up a chair.

“So before we look at the child, I would like to make sure that there haven’t been any problems with the child or any previous children.”

Kayla frowned at this and glanced at the Doctor, who nodded and placed a soft kiss on her temple. Resigned, the brunette turned towards Martha. “I did have another…partner, and I ended up becoming pregnant. But due to problems, mostly with added stress levels and just not the right stuff, the child died straight after birth.” Finished, she swallowed hard and looked over at the Doctor.

Patting her hand, the Doctor kissed her temple again and gave Martha a small smile. “I know my mom had trouble, which is why I was an only child,” he frowned in memory but soon shook his head.

Martha nodded and took out a bit of gel. “Now this might be a bit cool, but it’ll warm up soon.” Rubbing it in her hands, she put it on Kayla’s stomach, which was now revealed in the pair of sweat pants and a tank top she had changed into.

Kayla bit her lip and watched as Martha spread it out. She placed the hand-held sensor that was connected to the monitor and ran it over Kayla’s belly. For a second, the three could only see Kayla’s stomach going down and down.

“Oh my god,” Kayla suddenly gasped. Martha had gotten to the baby and they could see the double hearts beating together in her stomach.

“That’s…oh my,” the Doctor whispered and kissed Kayla deeply, both ignoring the saltiness of their tears that had run down.

Martha, biting her lip, very slowly started to point things out. “That little tail is actually an extension of its tailbone,” she started, “and though you can’t really see it, translucent eyelid folds are partially covering its eyes.” The black woman shook her head. “All in all, it seems to be a healthy, seven week baby…in a fourteen week sized stomach.”

Kayla giggled but it turned into a hiccup as she started to cry once more. “It’s our child.”

“It’s our child,” the Doctor agreed.

Martha nodded. “It’s your child.”

* * *

A few hours later, the Doctor and Kayla sat in the console room with their legs hanging out the TARDIS’ open door.

“How did names work on Gallifrey?” Kayla asked suddenly.

The Doctor frowned in thought as he started to mull over the question. “Well, there were usually three names that a Time Lord or Time Lady would have through their life time. The first one was…well I guess it was a nickname of sorts. That’s what everyone called us during most of your childhood and through our time at the Academy.”

Kayla nodded. “What was your nickname?” she asked.

The Doctor grinned as he started to remember some of his memories, some of which Kayla could only get the feeling of peace from. “My name was Theta Sigma.”

Kayla sighed and leaned against the Time Lord. “Theta Sigma, that is beautiful.”

The Doctor kissed Kayla on her temple and continued on, “The second one was your title, the name you were known by for the rest of your life outside of the Academy.”

“And yours name is ‘Doctor,’” Kayla said with a smile.

The Doctor grinned. “Correct,” he agreed. “And the last name was…well, it’s hard to explain. Can I show you it instead?”

Kayla nodded and turned towards the Doctor. The Time Lord placed his hands on the side of her head and closed his eyes to focus. Very slowly, he drew the brunette into his memories.

* * *

_‘”Theta Sigma,” a man called out, making a young child with tuffs of brown hair and blue eyes widen. Next to him, a boy with blond hair and brown eyes give him a hug._

_“It’s okay, Theta,” the boy promised._

_The other boy, Theta, grinned. “I know, Kosh, but still…what do you think I’ll be?”_

_Kosh laughed, “Oh I don’t know, an inspired?”_

_Theta shook his head. “Like that will happen.”_

_“Theta Sigma!” the same male voice called out again, sounding much more impatient._

_“Go!” Kosh said loudly with a push._

_Theta nodded and ran into the room, pulling up the collar of his odd style clothing. “Sorry, sorry,” he apologized to the men who were overseeing everything. Not looking pleased, the men just nodded in acknowledgement._

_Swallowing hard, Theta calmed his walking and stared ahead at a vortex. The Untempered Schism, the Time Lord’s most prized possession. It was said that there were only three people who looked into the Schism: Inspired, Runners, and the Insane._

_Everyone knew that he wouldn’t be an Inspired, but that only left the being one of the Insane or Runners and no one wanted that._

_“Theta Sigma, please step up onto the block,”_ _a man said, and obediently, Theta did._

_Taking a deep breath, Theta stared into the Untempered Schism and felt his heartbeat start to race. His eyes widened, and he gasped. A loud, fast pace of music started, and it didn’t leave him. Instead, he felt more than saw his life. Adventure, loss, love, and friendship; life that he would never have on Gallifrey._

_He was a Runner, and that music would take him through for the rest of his life. He would never forget it. It was his music, his name, and his life.’_

* * *

Kayla felt the memory end and she looked up at the Doctor, her eyes wide. “That music…that’s your third name?”

The Doctor nodded. “It’s the music of my soul.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply.

“What should our child’s name be?” Kayla asked softly.

“I don’t know, but we have time,” the Doctor pointed out.

Kayla laughed and laid her head on the Time Lord’s shoulder. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	7. The Shakespeare Code Pt. 1

The morning after the ultrasound, Kayla, the Doctor, and Martha all huddled into the console room.

“Right, a trip. A trip and if you like it then you can stay,” the Doctor said proudly.

Martha nodded and then frowned. “Why would I not like it?”

She soon found out the answer. As soon as the Doctor started to actually fly the TARDIS instead of letting it drift through space like it had been, the machine shook violently and made the black woman clutch onto the railing with a vise like grip.

“What…are we traveling through time?” Martha gasped, looking up to see the Doctor and Kayla pilot the time machine.

Kayla nodded in answer to Martha’s reply and then lunged over at a button. The Doctor gave the brunette a sharp look, making her huff but calm down and just watch the Doctor pilot while she held onto the console.

“But how do you travel in time?  What makes it go?” Martha yelled over at the two.

Pouting, the Doctor shook his head. “Oh, let’s take the fun and mystery out of everything. Martha, you don’t wanna know. It just does. Hold on tight!”

Not needing this advice that much, Martha just gripped tighter when she saw the Doctor literally go behind Kayla, bang a button, and then wrap his arms around her waist which allowed him to catch her as they fall backwards. She soon followed.

While the Time Lords picked themselves up fairly quickly, thought the Doctor did keep an arm around Kayla’s waist in case she fell, Martha to her feet slowly. “Blimey!” she huffed, “Do you have to pass a test to fly this thing?”

The brunette shrugged and looked at the Doctor, who just grinned brightly. “Yes, and I failed it,” he replied cheerfully. Grabbing a coat, he shrugged it on and turned to Martha. “Now, I promised you this trip, and if you like it then you’ll go on more ones, but first-

“We gotta finish this trip,” Kayla interrupted, and then sighed while giving Martha a grin. “One step at a time. Now if you’ll open this door, you’ll find a  brave, new world.”

Beaming at the thought, Martha turned to the TARDIS’ doors. Take a small moment to compose herself, she opened the doors and stepped out into a street that would have belong in a film set for a Jane Austen novel, only it had to be real because who would _ever_ allow a set to smell so bad?

All composer that the black woman had gathered dropped quickly and she jumped slightly while she spun on the spot, trying to take everything in at once. Briefly, she noticed the Doctor and Kayla just leaning against the TARDIS with a bemused expression on her face, but then she noticed something more interesting and she forgot about them.

“Oh, you are kidding me. You are _so_ kidding me. Oh, my God! We did it.  We travelled in time. Where are we? No, sorry. I gotta get used to this whole new language.  When are we?” she looked at the couple eagerly, her eyes sparkling with glee.

Not answering, the Doctor just quickly pulled her back from a gutter-like trench she was standing in and then held out an arm to keep Kayla back as a bucket with something foul smelling was tossed out of a second story window. Only after it hit did the thrower yell, “Mind the loo!”

“Well, we’re somewhere before the invention of the toilet,” Kayla said dryly. Making a face, she plugged her nose as the smell drifted over.

“Sorry,” the Doctor apologized while giving her a kiss on the cheek. And while it did get her to smile, she didn’t unplug her nose.

Completely agreeing with the brunette’s response, Martha moved away and looked around. With a sigh, she decided that it would be best to brush it off. “I’ve seen worse. I’ve worked the late shift and A&E.” Shuddering, she shook her head. She would never work there again.

Nodding, the Doctor _had_ been in A&E when it was late, though he was about to regenerate and therefore not really able to notice, he could definitely remember the smell.

“But are we safe?” Martha asked suddenly, “I mean, can we move around and stuff?”

Kayla frowned at her. “Of course we can move. Why do you think we couldn’t?”

Martha shook her head. “It’s like in the films. You step on a butterfly; you change the future of the human race.”

Seeing what she was getting at, Kayla sighed, “Nothing would happen if you stepped on a butterfly.”

“Though why would you step on a butterfly? What have butterflies ever done to you?” the Doctor pointed out.

Shrugging, they continued to walk down the street in silence, just watching everyone. Until Martha asked another question, “What if, I dunno, what if I kill my grandfather?”

Kayla laughed at the question, “Why are you going to kill your grandfather? Are you planning to?”

“No,” Martha admitted, a grin starting to form as she realized that the question was a bit stupid.

Nodding, as if to say ‘well then,’ they continued to walk and watch. Nearby, two men got in a fight and one called out a very British sounding, “Oi!”

“We’re in London,” she noted.

Kayla gave her a fake shocked look. “Probably around 1599,” she agreed.

Martha suddenly froze, her eyes widening. “Oh, but hold on. Am I all right?  I’m not gonna get carted off as a slave, am I?” she asked.

The Doctor looked at the black woman oddly, having not even considered this idea. “Why would they do that?”

Martha huffed and shook her head. “Not exactly white, in case you haven’t noticed,” she explained while motioning at herself.

The Doctor nodded slowly. “I’m not even human,” he pointed out, which could apply to the idea of the black woman getting carted off...if aliens were also getting carted off as slaves. Still, the Doctor continued, “Just walk about like you own the place.  Works for me. Besides, you’d be surprised. Elizabethan England, not so different from your time.”

“Yeah, look over there. That’s some good recycling in action,” Kayla pointed out while nodding to a man who was shoveling manure that was most likely from a horse.

The Doctor nodded at two men who were drinking and conversing at a water barrel. “Water cooler moment,” he added in.

“...and the world will be consumed by flame!” a preacher cried out loudly, ranting and waving around a bible.

“Global warming,” Kayla finished, which made the preacher stop and glare at them. “But there is one thing you might not have remembered from this time period…”

The Doctor grinned and pointed ahead of them where they could vaguely hear the sounds of a giant group of people and could see lights. “Popular entertainment for the masses. If I’m right, we’re just down the river by Southwark right next to...” his voice trailing off, he grabbed Martha’s hand with one of his and his other hand clutched Kayla’s. Together they ran around the corner to see _the_ Globe Theater.

“Oh, yes, the Globe Theatre!  Brand new. Just opened. Through, strictly speaking, it’s not a globe; it’s a tetradecagon — 14 sides — containing the man himself,” the Doctor explained, grinning proudly.

Martha frowned as she thought about it for a few seconds, but then her eyes widened and she looked at the two aliens in amazement, “Whoa, you don’t mean...is Shakespeare in there?” she gasped.

The Doctor laughed and nodded. “Oh, yes.” Grinning, he gave Kayla a kiss on her cheek, which made Martha roll her eyes.

“Alright Mr. and Mrs. Smith, I’ll be chaperoning you tonight,” Martha joked, making Kayla just laugh and the Doctor roll his eyes.

“In payment, we’ll let you see Shakespeare,” Kayla said, going along with it.

The Doctor nodded. “And you can even tell everyone you met him!”

“Then I could get sectioned!” Martha agreed in a sarcastically happy voice.

* * *

It was a hassle to get anywhere _close_ to the theater, so by the time they had crowded in, Kayla was ready to relax and sit down. Until she realized that they were going to be standing, crowded in by people, and tilting their heads back to get a glimpse of what was going on the stage.

So by the time the play was over, Kayla was not in the mood for all the cheering going around them. She had a headache, her feet hurt, and the smell was overwhelmingly bad.

“That’s amazing! Just amazing.  It’s worth putting up with the smell. And those are men dressed as women, yeah,” Martha commented on the left side of Kayla.

The brunette tried to make herself grin but instead realized that laying her head on the Doctor’s shoulder and just nodding was much easier. Thankfully, the Doctor sensed her discomfort and wrapped an arm around her waist. Calming her through the mental link, he spoke in a quieter voice to Martha, “London never changes.”

Looking over at them in confusion, Martha seemed to shrug it off. “What I wanna know is, where’s Shakespeare?”

Nearby, a person heard her and nodded in agreement before yelling out, “Author! Author!”

Groaning in frustration, Kayla winced as everyone stared to take up the chant, but it thankfully ended. However, this ending was short lived as the chanting gave way to even louder claps and cheers as Shakespeare came out and gave an exaggerated bow before blowing kisses at the audience.

“He’s a bit different from his portraits,” Martha commented, which was extremely true. Instead of an old man wearing an ugly collar, Shakespeare was, if Kayla was being truthful to herself, fairly hot. He was young with brown hair that was, for someone who had no access to any sort of hair cleanser, well kept.

The Doctor sighed, sounding as if he had developed a crush on the man, especially when he spoke about him, “Genius. He’s a genius - THE genius. The most human Human that’s ever been. Now we’re gonna hear him speak. Always, he chooses the best words.  New, beautiful, brilliant words.”

Holding out his hands, Shakespeare prepared to speak his amazing words…“Shut your big fat mouths!”

While the audience laughed, the Doctor groaned and shook his head. “Oh, well,” he sighed.

“You really shouldn’t meet your heroes,” Kayla informed the Doctor, and then kissed him on the cheek.

Shakespeare wasn’t done talking, “You have excellent taste! I’ll give you that,” he informed everyone, “Oh, that’s a wig!” he shouted out, pointing to a random person in the audience. The man shook his head, “I know what you’re all saying.  _'Loves Labour’s Lost,’_ that’s a funny ending, isn’t it? It just stops! Will the boys get the girls? Well, don’t get your hose in a tangle, you’ll find out soon. Yeah, yeah. All in good time. You don’t rush a genius,” bowing, it seemed like he was done with the matter until he suddenly jerked up. “When? Tomorrow night.”

This news brought out two different reactions from everyone. The audience cried out with glee, applauding the idea, but the actors looked confused and angry. Not noticing them, Shakespeare continued, “The premiere of my brand new play. A sequel, no less, and I call it _'Loves Labor’s Won!’”_

The Doctor looked over at Kayla and shook his head. _‘That’s the lost play. It’s talked about but nobody knows what happened to it.’_

Kayla’s eyes widened. _‘Oh great a mystery in history.’_

* * *

As the crowd cleared out and started to leave the theater, Martha turned to the Doctor and Kayla who were oddly quiet. “Alright, I’m not an expert on you two, but I think I know when there’s something wrong. So why are you being so quiet? Is it because of the play; cause I’ve never heard of _‘Love Labor’s Won.’”_

The Doctor nodded with a sigh, “Exactly — the lost play. It doesn’t exist — only in rumors.  It’s mentioned in lists of his plays but never ever turns up. No one knows why.”

“Have you got a mini-disk or something? We could tape it. We can flog it. Sell it when we get home and make a mint,” Martha suggested.

At this, Kayla shook her head and placed a hand on her forehead, as if she was physically pained by this question. “No Martha, just…no.”

Martha blinked, “Would that be bad?” she questioned.

“Yes,” Kayla grounded out. It had surprised her that someone who had been talking about what might happened if she stepped on a butterfly was now talking about videotaping something that history didn’t seem to remember.

Nodding, Martha sighed, “So what do we do now?”

“Why, we see the man himself,” the Doctor answered.

“You mean…” Martha started, her voice trailing off.

Kayla nodded, not looking as pleased as the Doctor or Martha. “Shakespeare.”

* * *

It took only a few questions to different people to find out that Shakespeare was in the Elephant Inn. Then, a clearly huffed person pointed it out to them, saying as he did so, “The drunk idiot is always there.”

The Doctor frowned and looked like he was about to defend Shakespeare’s honor, so Kayla quickly grabbed his arm and dragged him off with Martha saying, “Thank you,” while they left.

Still looking upset, the Doctor walked up the stairs and then paused. Turning around, he grinned brightly at the two. “He isn’t an idiot,” he stated, and then knocked on the door. “Hello!” he called out, making Kayla winced and look over his shoulder to see the group of people, including Shakespeare, turn to him. “Excuse me! I’m not interrupting, am I? Mr. Shakespeare, isn’t it?”

Shakespeare put his mug down with a loud sigh. “Oh no, no, no, no. Who let you in? No autographs. No, you can’t have yourself sketched with me. And please don’t ask where I get my ideas from. Thanks for the interest. Now be a good boy and shove—-“ His voice trailing off, Kayla watched as his eyes widened and then noticed how he was looking to the left of the Doctor, where Martha was standing.

“Hey, nonny nonny. Sit right down here next to me,” he said with a smirk. Pulling out a chair, he waved his hand at the two men who was sipping on a drink and sewing. “You two get sewing on them costumes. Off you go.”

A woman who seemed to work at the inn laughed, “Come on, lads. I think our William’s found his new muse.”

As the two left, the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha stepped in only for Shakespeare to pull out a chair and motion for Martha to sit in it. “Sweet lady,” He started as the black woman sat down, “Such unusual clothes.  So...fitted.”

While Kayla arched an eyebrow and the Doctor placed a protective arm around the brunette to hopefully keep the flirty Shakespeare away, Martha awkwardly replied, “Um, verily, forsooth, egads.”

“No,” the Doctor interrupted quickly, “no, don’t do that. Don’t.” Taking out his psychic paper, he held it out to Shakespeare. “I’m Sir Doctor of TARDIS and this is my fiancé, Dame Kayla. And this is our companion, Miss Martha Jones,” he introduced.

The writer raised an eyebrow. “Interesting, that bit of paper.  It’s blank,” he pointed out while idly motioning for the couple to sit down.

While the Doctor remained standing, his eyes widening with shock, Kayla just sat down and gave Martha a grin.

“Oh, that’s…very clever. That proves it. Absolute genius,” the Doctor said gleefully.

Martha frowned and took the paper from the Doctor. “No, it says so right there. Sir Doctor, Dame Kayla, and Martha Jones. It says so,” Martha protested.

Kayla looked over at the paper as well and shrugged. “I think it’s blank,” she agreed, “Though I’ve trained with psychic paper.”

Shakespeare just frowned. “Well, I say that paper is blank.”

Noticing Martha’s confused frown, Kayla explained, “Psychic paper,” she started, “Shows you what you think it says unless you’re a genius or know how to trick it.”

“Psychic,” Shakespeare started with a thoughtful frown, “Never heard that before and words are my trade. Who are you two exactly?  More’s the point, who is your delicious blackamoor lady?”

Martha coughed. “What did you say?” she asked, her eyes wide.

Shakespeare tilted his head. “Oops. Isn’t that a word we use nowadays? An Ethiop girl? A swarth? A Queen of Afric...”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this,” Martha said, cutting off Shakespeare.

The Doctor gave Martha grin. “It’s political correctness gone mad. Um, Martha’s from a far-off land. Freedonia,” he informed Shakespeare.

“Excuse me!” An annoyed man called out as he stormed into the inn, “Hold hard a moment. This is abominable behavior. A new play with no warning? I demand to see a script, Mr. Shakespeare. As Master of the Revels, every new script must be registered at my office and examined by me before it can be performed.”

Shakespeare rolled his eyes and set down the mug he was about to drink from. “Tomorrow morning, first thing, I’ll send it ‘round,” he promised.

“I don’t work to your schedule, you work to mine. The script, now!” he ordered loudly, glaring at the man.

Shakespeare shook his head. “I can’t,” he protested.

The man nodded, as if he had expected this. “Then tomorrow’s performance is cancelled.”

“It’s all go, ‘round here, isn’t it?” Martha muttered to the Doctor and Kayla, who nodded but said nothing.

“I’m returning to my office for a banning order.  If it’s the last thing I do, _'Love’s Labors Won'_ will never be played,” the man cried out, and then he left.

* * *

Having rented a room with two twin beds, Martha was to sleep in one and Kayla and the Doctor in the other, the trio settled in for a night of sleep. After all, it wasn’t every day that you got to sleep in an actual inn in Shakespearean London.

“Well, then...mystery solved.  That’s _'Love’s Labours Won'_ over and done with. Thought it might be something more, you know...more mysterious,” Martha stated, lying down on her bed.

Kayla shrugged, “That’s time travel for you,” she said just as a horrible scream. Exchanging worried looks, the three ran out of the room, down the stairs, and to the street were the man from earlier who Shakespeare had named Lynley was spitting out water.

“It’s that Lynley bloke,” Martha pointed out, her eyes wide.

The Doctor leaned forwards, studying the man. “What’s wrong with him?” he muttered to himself, and upon seeing others press in he held his arms out, “Leave it to me— I’m a doctor.”

Upon seeing the Doctor kneels down next to the man, Martha joined him. “So am I – near enough.”

Kayla, not being anything _near_ to a Doctor, helped control the crowd.

Without warning, the man sat up, trying to breathe, and then fell back. Seeing this, the Doctor got up and ran around the street, trying to see if anyone was around to have done this to the man.

Martha, meanwhile, listened for the man’s heart. “Gotta get the heart going. Mr. Lynley, c’mon, can you hear me?  You’re gonna be all right.” Opening his mouth to do CPR, the black woman jumped back as water gushed rapidly from the man’s mouth. “What the hell is that?”

Having arrived back, the Doctor took out his stethoscope and listened to the man’s lungs. “I’ve never seen a death like it.  His lungs are full of water — he drowned and then...I dunno, like a blow to the heart, an invisible blow.”

Kayla nodded and turned to the owner of the inn. “Good mistress, this poor fellow has died from a sudden imbalance of the humors. A natural if unfortunate demise. Call a constable and have him taken away.”

Her eyes wide, the woman nodded. “Yes ma’am,”

“I’ll do it, ma’am,” A young girl offered.

As the two walked away, the Doctor frowned at the body. “And why are you telling them that?” Martha wondered.

“This lot still have got one foot in the Dark Ages. If we tell them the truth, they’ll panic and think it was witchcraft,” the Doctor answered.

Martha shrugged, seeming to agree with that. “Okay, what was it then?”

“Witchcraft,” Kayla answered.


	8. The Shakespeare Code Pt. 2

Shakespeare insisted on walking the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla back to the room. But the reason why became quickly apparent when he started to flirt with Martha. Though for her part, the black woman seemed less than interested with the man’s flirting. So by the time they got to the stairs, Shakespeare actually tried to start a conversation with the Doctor.

“Poor Lynley. So many strange events,” the wise man started, and then turned back to Martha. “Not least of all, this land of Freedonia where a woman can be a doctor?”

Martha rolled her eyes as evidently this name for where she was from was starting to grate on her nerves. “Where a woman can do what she likes,” she replied a little shortly.

Nodding sagely, Shakespeare turned to the Doctor. “And you, Sir Doctor. How can a man so young have eyes so old?”

The Doctor shrugged. “I do a lot of reading,” he responded.

Kayla chuckled softly, making Shakespeare turn to her. “And Dame Kayla, your stomach is large as many a woman get, yet you act as if you are unused to it,” he remarked.

Raising an eyebrow, Kayla just gave Shakespeare a smile. “It’s a weight I will learn to bare.”

Not looking surprised at how Kayla had answered, Shakespeare turned to Martha and eyed her for a few moments. “And you, you look at him, and her, like you’re surprised they exists. They are as much of a puzzle to you as they are to me.”

Swallowing a bit, it seemed to bother her to have this pointed out, Martha pushed open the door to their room. “I think we should say good night.” Leaving, she gave a pointed look to the Doctor and Kayla before closing the door.

Shakespeare just grinned, as if he was used to having women closing doors nearly literally in his face. Shaking his head, he turned to the Doctor and Kayla. “I must work. I have a play to complete. But I’ll get my answers tomorrow, Doctor, and I’ll discover more about you and your lady and why this constant performance of yours.”

Starting to push open the door to the room, the Doctor paused which made Kayla do the same. She watched as the Time Lord turned to Shakespeare and say, “All the world’s a stage.”

Shakespeare paused and looked back at the couple. “Hm, I might use that. Good night, Doctor and Kayla.”

The Doctor grinned. “Nighty-night, Shakespeare,” he replied and then closed the door. Giving Kayla a smile, the Time Lord couldn’t help but nudge her.

“I just said goodnight to Shakespeare,” he said softly, sounding very excited about this.

Kayla laughed. “Yes you did,” she agreed, and then closed the door. For a brief moment, the couple had eyes for only each other, but then Martha cleared her throat and the two looked over at the black woman.

“It’s not exactly five-star, is it?” Martha pointed out, and then shrugged, “Still, not every night I get to sleep in an actual inn in Shakespearean London.”

The Doctor beamed widely, “Glad you enjoy it.”

Martha nodded and then frowned, obviously running her tongue over her teeth. “Wish I had a toothbrush,” she remarked.

Kayla grinned and reached into the Doctor’s pocket nearest to her. Digging around for a few seconds, she pulled out a toothbrush and handed it to the black woman. “It contains Venusian spearmint,” she informed, “Most doctors recommend it.”

Sniffing the toothbrush, Martha shrugged. Going off to the bathroom, she started to scrub her teeth. Pausing, she called out, “So, magic and stuff. That’s a surprise. It’s a little bit _'Harry Potter.’”_

Kayla sat down on the bed and leaned back with a sigh. “The sequel series was pretty bleh but book seven…even Jack had a tear.”

The Doctor laughed at the thought while Martha spluttered in the bathroom. “Sequel series?” she asked, even poking her head out of the room to give the two a questioning stare.

The brunette just waved her hand. “You’ll find out later,” she promised.

Sighing and shaking her head, Martha spat outside the window and then walked out of the room. “But is it real, though?  I mean, witches, black magic and all that, it’s real?”

The Doctor rolled his eyes at the very thought. “‘Course it isn’t!” he replied lightly.

“Well, how am I supposed to know?  I’ve only just started believing in time travel. Give me a break,” Martha huffed while flopping down on her bed.

The Doctor shrugged. “Looks like witchcraft, but it isn’t. Can’t be,” he muttered. Standing up, he started to pace the room as he was prone to do when he needed to think hard. “There’s such a thing as psychic energy but a human couldn’t channel it like that. Not without a generator the size of Taunton and I think we’d have spotted that.”

“There’s something we’re missing,” Kayla remarked from the bed. She looked over at Martha. “Any ideas?”

Martha blinked and then chewed on her lip. “So it’s something that isn’t witchcraft or…psychic energy?”

The Doctor sighed. “Not your fault. You’re still a novice.” Shaking his head, he got next to Kayla on the bed. “Night Martha.”

Martha just rolled her eyes and blew out the candle. “Night.”

* * *

About an hour after Martha had gone to sleep and Kayla had dozed off, the Doctor remained wide awake. This was the reason why he was able to not only jump up, but make sure Kayla was not the one screaming through their mental link. Helping her wake up, the Doctor started to hurry off, leaving Kayla to wake Martha up. Once the black woman woke, the two ran off to join the Time Lord.

Together, the trio ran into Shakespeare room where the Doctor figured the scream had come from. Bursting into the room, they saw a sleepy Shakespeare jerking his head upright, the scream barely rousing him. “Wha’? What was that?”

As he got up to examine the body along with the Doctor and Kayla, Martha ran to the window and looked out with a cry of, “I’ll see if I can find the person!”

“Her heart gave out. She died of fright,” the Doctor muttered, putting away his stethoscope.

Martha suddenly gave a strangled gasp that had Kayla, the Doctor, and Shakespeare look up. “Doctor? Kayla?” the black woman said, sounding horrified.

The two instantly got to their feet and went to the woman. “What did you see?” the Doctor asked.

“A witch,” Martha answered immediately.

* * *

At a dawn, a rooster crowed, briefly waking Kayla up. But upon her eyelids nearly snapping back down, she instead relaxed in the bed with a sigh and snuggled into the Doctor who had finally dozed off after quite a few promises Kayla didn’t know how she was going to keep due to her current condition.

However, her rest was short lived as an hour later, the brunette found herself sitting at a desk with the Doctor on one side, his arm around her which allowed the tired woman to lean into him, and Martha on the other side.

“Oh, sweet Dolly Bailey. She sat out three bouts of the plague in this place. We all ran like rats. But what could have scared her so? She had such enormous spirit,” Shakespeare was saying as he remembered his dead friend.

The Doctor nodded. “’Rage, rage against the dying of the light,’” he quoted, which made Kayla grin.

“But ‘the woods are promising, lovely, dark and deep,’” she replied. The Doctor just nudged her with a his shoulder.

“I might use those,” Shakespeare spoke up, making the couple both go right back to just sitting and listening.

“Sorry, but they’re someone else’s,” Kayla informed him with a small smirk that made Martha roll her eyes.

Having already come to terms with being the one to usually get the conversations on track, Martha quickly put in, “There’s something I’ve noticed. Lynley drowned on dry land, Dolly died of fright and they were both connected to you,” she finished with a nod to Shakespeare.

Putting the drink down that he had only just picked up, Shakespeare frowned at Martha. “You’re accusing me?” He asked, sounding rather shocked.

Martha quickly shook her head. “No, but I saw a witch, big as you like, flying, cackling away, and you’ve written about witches.”

“I have? When was that?” Shakespeare quickly replied. Glancing over at the drink, he started to think twice about picking it up.

Only noticing this small problem _now,_ the Doctor nudged Martha and hissed, “Not, not quite yet.”

Seeing this interaction but shrugging it off, Shakespeare continued on with the topic of witches. “Peter Streete spoke of witches.”

“Pete Streete?” Kayla asked suddenly, her eyes widening, “The builder of the Globe?”

Shakespeare nodded. “He sketched the plans for the Globe,” He agreed.

Suddenly, the Doctor shot to his feet. “The architect. Hold on. The architect! The architect!” Grabbing Kayla, he helped her get to her feet quickly. “Come on!” He called to the others as he ran to the Globe.

* * *

The Doctor and Kayla stood on the stage of one of the most famous theaters in the world: The Globe. Kayla had already promised the Doctor that she would answer the reason why she was so interested in Pete Streete. The Doctor was okay with this, but, as usual, he didn’t explain his sudden wonder with the theater.

Instead, he called over to Shakespeare, who was with Martha in the pit, “The columns there, right? 14 sides. I’ve always wondered but I never asked...tell me, Will, why 14 sides?”

Shakespeare shrugged, already looking very confused with why the Doctor was so interested in the Globe. “It was the shape Peter Streete thought best, that’s all. Said it carried the sound well.”

“Why does that ring a bell? 14…” the Doctor mused to himself while running a hand through his hair.

Kayla shrugged. “There’s a planet that goes around 14 stars,” she pointed out with a shrug.

“There are 14 lines in a sonnet,” Martha added from the pit.

The Doctor nodded at that. “So there is. Good point. Words and shapes following the same design,”  he agreed before he started to pace. “14 lines, 14 sides, 14 facets…Oh, my head.  Tetradecagon...think, think, think! Words, letters, numbers, lines!”

“This is just a theater,” Shakespeare started with a shake of his head as he watched the Doctor’s antics increase.

Kayla shook her head. “A theater is magic,” she informed Shakespeare, though by the way he nodded at that it seemed to be more of a reminder. “When you stand on that stage and say the right words-“

“With the right emphasis,” the Doctor added in with a nod.

Shooting him a subtle glare that he at least had the curtsey to look sheepish about, Kayla went on, “The right words with the right emphasis at the right time on that stage can make men weep or cry with joy.”

“Or change them,” the Doctor continued, as he sensed Kayla finishing with her speech, “You can change people’s minds just with words in this place. And if you exaggerate that...”

“It’s like you’re police box.  Small wooden box with all that POWER inside,” Martha cut in with a wink.

Kayla give her a grin and said, “I like you, Martha Jones.”

Nodding in agreement, the Doctor turned towards Shakespeare suddenly. “Tell you what, though. Peter Streete would know. Can I talk to him?”

Shakespeare suddenly looked downcast and shook his head. “You won’t get an answer. A month after finishing this place...lost his mind.”

Horrified by this, Martha gasped, “Why? What happened?”

Shakespeare shrugged. “Started raving about witches, hearing voices, babbling. His mind was addled.”

“Where is he now?” the Doctor asked, though Kayla could see through their link that he already knew, and so did Kayla.

“Bedlam,” Shakespeare answered darkly.

Kayla just shook her head and placed a hand on her stomach, which was still sort flat enough to allow her wear her normal clothes. “I can’t go,” she informed the Doctor.

Nodding in complete agreement, the Doctor kissed her temple and then called down to Martha. “Martha, you gotta stay with Kayla. You two try to figure out why anyone would want to kill those two people.”

Looking slightly upset at this but nodding all the same, Martha waited for Kayla to get off the stage and then the two hurried off.

For a moment, the Doctor paused, just watching Kayla leave. But once she was gone, the Time Lord clapped his hands and formed a fake grin. “Well Shakespeare, how about a trip to Bedlam?” the Doctor asked him.

Shaking his head, Shakespeare shrugged. “Alright, but hold on.” Turning away, he focused on two actors who had just arrived. “Ralph, the last scene as promised. Copy it, hand it round. Learn it. Speak it. Back before curtain up. Remember, kid, project. Eyes and teeth. You never know — the Queen might turn up.”

With a nod to the Doctor, the two men headed off with Shakespeare muttering, “As if. She never does.”

* * *

When it was just the Doctor and her, staying behind was very boring, plus the Doctor always came back with some tale that she could have been in had she not been pregnant. But with Martha, Kayla found that it was a bit interesting. At the very least, Martha offered a person to talk to that didn’t double as a time machine with orders to make sure she didn’t leave.

Having gone through multiple files about the two dead people, Kayla sat back with a huff in Shakespeare chair. “There’s nothing here!”

“I know!” Martha nodded, going through a pile of letters Shakespeare had received and never sent a reply to, “Only letters from his wife asking when he’s going to come home, a mistress asking when he’s going to come home…and his son asking for him back?”

Kayla looked over at Martha, a sudden worried expression on her face. “Martha…” she said warningly as the black woman started to read it out loud.

“Father, we are well here in the countryside but I miss the city. Mother says that you do not want me there because you are too busy. I don’t mind sitting with Dolly! Please let me come with you next time you come home, Hamnet.” Shaking her head, Martha set down the letter. “Who’s Hamnet?”

The brunette sighed softly, “Hamnet was one of his sons but he passed away, likely to the Black Death. Shakespeare wasn’t even there but the news…it drove him crazy with grief. He was put in Bedlam.”

Martha nodded slowly and then looked down at the letter. Briefly, her finger traced the curve in the name. “Hamnet,” she muttered, “Bit like Hamlet.”

“That was his inspiration,” Kayla informed her, “The only way a writer thought he could immortalize his son, name him in a play.”

“To be or not to be,” Martha agreed. Carefully, she put the letter back in the stack and ignored the rest of the letters. After the story of poor Hamnet and his plea that never got answered, Martha didn’t want to dig up more of the past.

* * *

The Doctor having gone in Bedlam with Shakespeare, placed his temples on Peter Streete’s head. “Peter, I’m the Doctor. Go into the past, one year ago. Let your mind go back, back to when everything was fine and shining. Everything that happened in this year since happened to somebody else. It was just a story. A winter’s tale. Let go. Listen.  That’s it, just let go.” As he felt the man’s body go limp, he helped him onto lay down on the cot he was sitting on. “Tell me the story, Peter. Tell me about the witches.”

Very slowly in a raspy voice, the broken man spoke, “Witches spoke to Peter. In the night, they whispered. Got Peter to build the Globe to their design. THEIR design! The 14 walls — always 14. When the work was done-“ laughing loudly, the man finished with, “they sapped poor Peter’s wits.”

While Shakespeare made a noise at the story, the Doctor just nodded and crouched down in front of Peter, his hands still on the man’s face. “Where did Peter see the witches?  Where in the city?” At now answer, he sighed and tried again, “Peter, tell me. You’ve got to tell me where were they?”

“All Hallows Street,” Peter answered, which, upon thinking about it, the Doctor figured he should have realized that anything defined as a witch would live at All Hallows Street.

Before he could thank the man and leave, however, a crackle came from behind him, making him stand up and whirl around. Shakespeare quickly backed up next to him and together the two exchanged a glance as a croon woman, a stereotypical witch really, was in the cell with them.

And of course, like all witches, she had to crackle once more before she began her speech, “Too many words. Just one touch of the heart.”

Without warning, the witch moved to the room, making Shakespeare and the Doctor press against the wall near to the door automatically, and laid her hand on Peter’s chest. Realizing too late what she was doing, the Doctor yelled, “Noooo!!!”

But this did no good and Peter’s back arched and he cried out with pain before he died.

“Witch! I’m seeing a witch!” Shakespeare cried out, his eyes widening as he seemed to realize that this was happening; that this was real.

The witch just crackled once more, “Who would be next, hmm? Just one touch,” she threatened while rising one crooked finger.

* * *

Still in Shakespeare office, Kayla was rubbing her temple, getting a headache. As of late, the Doctor had been trying to keep his emotions more in check. Not bare them from her, per say, but keep them lower. However, now they were raging in her head, making her worried and very annoyed.

“Martha, stop making that noise,” she commanded as Martha was opening different drawers at random.

Frowning, Martha came over to her. “You alright, Kayla?” she asked, looking concerned. “Is it the baby?”

Kayla shook her head. “It’s the Doctor. I have this horrible feeling that he’s in trouble.”

Martha just nodded. “From what I’ve seen,” she started out, “the Doctor seems to be able to handle himself. I’m sure he’ll come out of this fine. Plus, he’s with Shakespeare and I know he hasn’t died yet.”

* * *

Still in the cell of Bedlam, the Doctor and Shakespeare looked at each other nervously, their backs against the wall nearest to the door.

“Oh, oh, I’ll stop your frantic hearts.  Poor, fragile mortals,” the witch said, wiggling her finger.

Shakespeare glanced nervously over at the door. “Never thought I’d be trapped in here again,” he muttered.

“Who will die first, hmm?” the witch continued on.

Giving the famous writer a careful look, the Doctor placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “Live a little.” Turning to the witch, he spoke up. “Well, if you’re looking for volunteers,” he said with a shrug.

“Doctor, can you stop her?” Shakespeare asked, his eyes wide as he watched the man walk towards the witch.

“No mortal has power over me,” the witch answered for him with a smirk.

The Doctor ignored her, already starting to think. “Oh, but there’s a power in words. If I can find the right one — if I can just know you...”

For a moment, the witch looked worried, but then she shook her head. “None on Earth has knowledge of us.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here,” the Doctor informed her, and then went on with his rambling, “Now think, think, think...Humanoid female, uses shapes and words to channel energy...ah, 14! That’s it! 14! The 14 stars of the Rexel planetary configuration!”  Turning towards the witch he pointed his finger and cried out, “Creature, I name you Carrionite!”

The witch, Carrionite, wailed and shook for a moment and then she disappeared.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, Shakespeare slowly moved into the cell near the Doctor and the dead Peter. “What did you do?” the writer asked.

“I named her. The power of a name. That’s old magic.”

Shakespeare frowned and then shook his head. “There’s no such thing as magic.”

“Well, it’s just a different sort of science. You lot, you chose mathematics. Given the right string of numbers, the right equation, you can split the atom.  Carrionites use words instead,” the Doctor explained.

Frowning at the word, ‘atom,’ Shakespeare seemed to decide to brush it off and ask, “Use them for what?”

“The end of the world.”

* * *

“Shakespeare? Shakespeare?!” At the cries, Kayla and the Martha exchanged worried looks. Judging by the sound of feet, the person who was yelling was too close for the two women to sneak out and go to their room without questions. This left them with one option.

“Hide,” Kayla hissed, and ducked under the desk she was sitting at. Nodding, Martha ducked behind a different area. Together, the two watched as a rushed man, already very frazzled, charged into the room.

“Damn it man,” he sighed as he found it empty. Kicking over a can of trash he shook his head. “Guess we’re going to go on without you.” Slamming the door shut, Martha and Kayla exchanged worried looks.

“Bedroom, now,” Kayla hissed. Martha quickly nodded and the two snuck out.

* * *

“The Carrionites disappeared way back at the dawn of the universe. Nobody was sure if they were real or legend,” the Doctor explained to a puzzled Shakespeare.

Shakespeare crossed his arms and then nodded to Peter’s dead body. “Well, I’m going for real.”

The Doctor smiled tightly. “But what do they want?” he mused to himself, and then shook his head, figuring out his own question. “A new empire on Earth…using you,” he finished, turning to Shakespeare.

“Me? But I’d never work for that foul creature,” Shakespeare protested.

The Doctor just shook his head. “Think back to last night. Martha said she saw a witch through a window, that might have been a Carrionite. What were you doing before Dolly died?”

Shakespeare shrugged. “Finishing the play.”

Thinking hard, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. “What happens on the last page?” he prompted.

“The boys get the girls. They have a bit of a dance. It’s all as funny and thought provoking as usual — except those last few lines. Funny thing is...I don’t actually remember writing them,” frowning at the end, Shakespeare then shrugged, brushing it off.

At this, the Doctor clapped his hands with a grin on his face that seemed out of place in the cell. “That’s it. They used you. They gave you the final words. Like a spell, like a code. _'Love’s Labors Won'_ — it’s a weapon!  The right combination of words, spoken at the right place with the shape of the Globe as an energy converter! The play’s the thing! And yes, you can have that,” he added as he saw Shakespeare’s eyebrows raise.

* * *

Martha looked out the window, seeing the Globe alight and hearing the cheering audience. “The play’s started.”

Kayla walked over to her. _“’Love’s Labors Won.’_ A play history doesn’t remember is preforming now.” Pulling out a pad of psychic paper, Kayla showed it to the black woman. “Something’s going down there. Now let’s go and watch that play.”

Martha grinned and looked at the psychic paper. “Kayla, you are amazing.”

However, as they opened the door to step out, they ran into a wild looking Doctor with Shakespeare behind him. At the sight of Martha, Shakespeare gave her a flirty grin. The Doctor, though, he gave Kayla swift kiss and then yelled, “Come on!” And brought her with him to Shakespeare room.

“Shakespeare, do you have a map?” the Time Lord asked, looking around the room.

Nodding, the man pulled open a drawer and grabbed his map. Once it was laid out on the desk, the Doctor leaned over it with Kayla leaning over his shoulder. “All Hallows Street. There it is. Martha, the three of us will track them down,” Straightening up, he turned to Shakespeare, “Will, you get to the Globe. Whatever you do, stop that play!”

Looking very proud to be requested of this, the famous writer nodded. “I’ll do it.” Holding out his hand, he waited for the Doctor to shake it, which the man gladly did. “All these years I’ve been the cleverest man around. Next to you, I know nothing.”

Martha shook her head. “Oh, don’t complain.”

“I’m not. It’s marvelous. Good luck, Doctor,” Shakespeare said, giving the man a grin.”

The Doctor grinned. “Good luck, Shakespeare,” he returned. Taking Kayla’s hand, the two walked off with Martha trotting behind them.

“Once more unto the breach!” Kayla quoted with a knowing wink to the Doctor.

Shakespeare’s eyebrows rose. “I like that. Wait a minute...that’s one of mine.”

The Doctor laughed. “Oh, just shift!”

* * *

The trio walked down to All Hallows Street which was just as creepy as the name replied. All the houses gave off a witchy sort of vibe which made it harder to figure out which house was which.

“All Hallows Street, but which house?” The Doctor mused.

Martha’s brow suddenly furrowed. “The thing is, though...am I missing something here? The world didn’t end in 1599. It just didn’t. Look at me — I’m living proof,” she wondered.

Kayla gave Martha a pitying look. “History is in constant flux. If we fail then the world ends.”

“But…I was born after this. What will happen to me? To my family?” Martha asked, her eyes widening.

“Your souls might one day meet, but you’ll never have existed as Martha Jones,” Kayla answered.

It was at this point that Martha realized why the Doctor and Kayla had offered her a chance to leave. Time traveling was amazing and an absolute dream, but was it worth it to have the fate of the world in her hands? The potential risk of dying because she did something wrong terrified her.

Still musing on this, Martha was quieter as the trio walked down the street.

“Which house?” Kayla grumbled to herself, and then paused. Together, the three turned to see the house’s they were just passing door to open slowly and creakily.

“Ah, make that WITCH house,” the Doctor sighed. Giving Kayla’s hand a gentle squeeze the two walked into the house, Martha following. The bottom level had nothing but a flight of stairs. Seeing no choice, the three walked up to only see a waiting witch, Carrionite, for them.

Acting all casual, the Doctor offered a slight grin. “I take it we’re expected.”

The woman smirked. “Oh, I think Death has been waiting for you a very long time,” she informed the man. Suddenly, she pointed her finger at Martha. “I gaze upon this bag of bones and now I name thee Martha Jones.”

Kayla quickly stepped to the side and then back as the Doctor caught the now limp Martha Jones and gently lowered her to the floor. The brunette crouched behind her and sighed as she felt Martha’s still beating pulse.

“What have you done?” the Doctor asked, getting the information through his link.

No longer smirking as much, the woman glanced with curiosity over at Kayla and Martha, which made the Doctor subtly shift to his side. “Only sleeping, alas. Curious, the name has less impact. She’s somehow out of her time. And as for you, Sir Doctor!” pointing, the woman frowned as the Doctor didn’t even flinch. “Fascinating. There is no name. Why would a man hide his title in such despair? Oh, but look.  There’s still one word with the power that burns.”

The Doctor shrugged, though his mind instantly went to Kayla. “The naming won’t work on me,” he tried to say.

“But yet you burn and ache for the Kayla in your wake.” At her name being spoken, Kayla cried out, her hands instantly going to her stomach.

Whirling around, the Doctor knelt next to the brunette and held her, his hand over hers. “You,” the Time Lord started, his voice shaking with fury. “You, just made a very big mistake. Because if there’s one thing you should know about me…” Standing up slowly, the Doctor stalked towards the witch, every bit as dangerous as any of the monsters he has faced.

“I am the Doctor. I am a Time Lord. And you just hurt my Bonded _Lilith of the Carrionites.”_ Though he said the last part in Gallifreyian, it still worked. With a scream, the Carrionite literally burst into flames and died. For a moment, the Doctor seemed pleased about this, but hearing a weak call of his name, he ran to Kayla.

“Kayla, are you okay?” he asked, his eyes widening.

The brunette nodded shakily. “Glad I choose this name off the list of the dead.” She tried to joke, but then winced and placed a hand on her stomach.

Knowing what she wanted to explain, the Doctor just nodded and helped her up before turning his attention to a groggy Martha. Thankfully, she shot up like a bullet.

“Globe?” She asked.

“Globe,” the Doctor agreed, and then looked over at Kayla.

“Globe,” she repeated.

Together, the three ran out of the house only for Kayla to grab Martha’s arm, stopping the black woman from going further. Looking at her, the brunette shrugged and explained. “When he gets like this, he doesn’t notice anything,”

This statement was proven by the Doctor running past them and further down All Hallows Street instead of pausing for Kayla and Martha. Shaking her head, Kayla called to him, “You’re going the wrong way!”

The Doctor yelled back, “No I’m not! Come on!” Less than two minutes later, however, he ran back the opposite way. “I was going the wrong way!”

“Told you so,” Kayla said to Martha. Smiling, she walked down the steps lightly.

* * *

Running in the streets of London was fairly stressful on Kayla, but they thankfully made it to the Globe quickly. “I hate you,” Kayla snapped, but then paused at the sight of red energy pouring out of the theater and the sound of screams from the audience.

The preacher from earlier that had glared at them turned to them with a smirk. “I told thee so! I told thee!”

Ignoring him, the Doctor pointed at one of the sides of the door. “Stage door!” he yelled.

* * *

Thankfully, as the door was made of wood, the stage door was unlocked and allowed Kayla, the Doctor, and Martha to burst into the backstage of the theater. Instantly, they were treated with the sight of Shakespeare rubbing his head.

“Stop the play! I think that was it. Yeah, I said, ‘Stop the play!’” the Doctor snapped in annoyance.

Shakespeare frowned. “I hit my head,” he groaned while continuing to rub.

“Yeah, don’t rub it, you’ll go bald.” Before Shakespeare could reply to this, a particularly loud scream came from outside and the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand. “That’s our cue!” he cried out, and the couple ran out.

Shrugging, Martha grabbed Shakespeare’s forearm and dragged him out to the stage along with the Time Lords.

“Now begins the millennium of blood!” the Carrionites who were swooping around the stage called out with a cackle.

Watching this for a moment, the Doctor grabbed Shakespeare’s arm. “Come on, Will! History needs you!”

Shakespeare stared at him, his eyes wide. “But what can I do?”

“You gotta reverse it!” Kayla yelled back.

The writer looked in between the two. “How am I supposed to do that?”

The Doctor shook his head. “The shape of the Globe gives words power, but you’re the wordsmith, the one true genius.  The only man clever enough to do it!”

Shakespeare shrugged helplessly. “But what words? I have none ready!”

“You’re William Shakespeare!” Kayla and the Doctor yelled together.

“But these Carrionite phrases, the need such precision!” Shakespeare protested.

The Doctor gave the famous writer a steady look. “Trust yourself. When you’re locked away in your room, the words just come, don’t they?  Like magic. Words of the right sound, the right shape, the right rhythm — words that last forever! That’s what you do, Will! You choose perfect words. Do it.  Improvise!”

Not looking like he believed the two, Shakespeare turned to the hoard of Carrionites and took a deep breath. “Close up this den of hateful, dire decay! Decomposition of your witches’ plot! You thieve my brains, consider me your toy. My doting Doctor tells me I am not! Foul Carrionite spectres, cease your show! Between the points...”

“7-6-1-3-9-0!” Kayla informed Shakespeare quickly at the questioning look he was giving them.

Shakespeare nodded. “7-6-1-3-9-0! And banished like a tinker’s cuss, I say to thee...”

Pausing once more, the man looked to the couple for advice only for the Doctor and Kayla at a loss. Suddenly, Martha cried out, “Expelliarmus!”

“Expelliarmus?” Kayla repeated, her brow furrowing.

“Expelliarmus!” the Doctor yelled in agreement.

Blinking briefly, Shakespeare roared, “Expelliarmus!”

“Good old JK!” the Doctor yelled out with a laugh.

At this finishing cry, the Carrionites screamed in horror as they got sucked up into a cloud like a tornado along with all the copies of _Love’s Labors Won.’_

“And there it goes,” Kayla muttered with a shake of her head. “I wanted to read it.”

The audience, however, seemed to pause. For a moment, they were all silent but then they started to applause and cheer. The trio of time travelers exchanged a look and then ducked out as the actors took their bows. “They think it was all special effects,” Martha hissed to the Time Lords.

“Your effect is special indeed,” Shakespeare flirted with a smirk.

Martha rolled her eyes. “It’s not your best line.”

* * *

Meanwhile, the Doctor and Kayla went into the boxes that they figured the source probably came from. Upon the third one, they found an orb with two Carrionites in it. Shrugging, the Doctor put it in his pocket and took Kayla’s hand.

“We did it,” the Doctor said proudly.

Kayla laughed and hugged him. “We did.”

* * *

The next morning, the Doctor and Kayla came back from the TARDIS to find Martha and Shakespeare sitting rather close to each other. On their way back the Doctor had grabbed an animal skull that drew his attention and a ruff collar.

“Good props store back there! I’m not sure about this though,” he remarked while studying the skull once more, “Reminds me of a Sycorax.”

“Sycorax. Nice word. I’ll have that off you as well,” Shakespeare replied, his brow furrowing.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. “I should be on 10%. How’s your head?”

At this reminder, Shakespeare rubbed his head. “Still aching.”

Kayla grabbed the collar from the Time Lord. “Here, a present.” Throwing him the collar, she grinned as he put it around his neck. “It’s kinda like a neck brace. Keep it on until your head gets better, though I think it looks good on you.”

Martha rolled her eyes as Shakespeare straightened up, the brace on his neck. “What about the play?” she wondered.

The Doctor shook his head. “Gone. I looked all over — every single copy of _'Love’s Labors_ _Won’_ went up in the sky.”

“My lost masterpiece,” Shakespeare sighed with a shake of his head.

Martha frowned. “You could write it up again,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, better not, Will. There’s still power in those words. Maybe it should best stay forgotten,” the Doctor warned.

Shakespeare shrugged. “Oh, but I’ve got new ideas. Perhaps it’s time I wrote about fathers and sons. In memory of my boy — my precious Hamnet,” he swallowed hard while looking out at the pit.

Martha glanced over at Kayla, who was smiling sadly, and then looked back to Shakespeare. “I’m sure that will be amazing.”

While Shakespeare stared off into the distance, the Doctor cleared his throat pointedly. “Anyway, time we were off. I’ve got a nice attic in the TARDIS where this lot,” pausing he took out the crystal that held the Carrionites in it, “can scream for all eternity and I’ve gotta take Martha back to Freedonia.”

Shakespeare got to his feet along with Martha. “You mean travel on through time and space,” the famous writer.

Everyone pause, especially the Doctor. “You what?” he asked, his eyes widening.

“You and Kayla are from another world like the Carrionites and Martha is from the future. It’s not hard to work out,” Shakespeare said with a shrug.

Kayla’s mouth dropped open and Martha gasped. “That’s...incredible. You are incredible,” the Doctor stammered.

“We’re alike in many ways, Doctor,” while the Doctor just gaped and Kayla shook her head, Shakespeare turned to Martha, “Martha, let me say goodbye to you in a new verse. A sonnet for my Dark Lady. Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate—-“

Before Shakespeare could finish, two men ran into the Globe Theater, their eyes wide. “Will! Will! You’ll never believe it! She’s here! She’s turned up!” one cried out.

“We’re the talk of the town. She heard about last night! She wants us to perform it again,” the other one yelled.

Martha frowned. “Who?” she asked.

The man who had spoken up second literally jumped into the air. “Her Majesty! She’s here!”

A fanfare started up from outside and Queen Elizabeth I came into the theater.

“Queen Elizabeth I!” the Doctor gasped, nudging Kayla.

At his sight, the woman glared at the Time Lord. “Doctor!” she hissed, and then looked over at Kayla and Martha. “And your companions.”

“What?” the Doctor asked, looking at the two women who shrugged.

“My sworn enemies,” the Queen continued.

“What?” the Doctor repeated.

“Off with their heads!” The Queen finished.

“What?” the Doctor cried out.

Martha rolled her eyes and grabbed the Doctor’s and Kayla’s arms. “Never mind ‘what,’” she snapped, “just run!  See you, Will!  And thanks!”

As Shakespeare started to laugh loudly, the trio ran off with the echoing cry of, “Stop that pernicious Doctor and his companions!”

Speeding up their run, the trio went through the streets of London, a solider yelling behind them, “Stop in the name of the Queen!”

“What have we done to upset her?!” Martha asked the Doctor.

The Doctor shook his head. “How should we know? We haven’t even met her yet!”

“Time travel for you,” Kayla added in, “but we’ll meet her eventually.”

Unlocking the door to the TARDIS, Martha and the Kayla rushed in and the Doctor went in as well and slammed the door shut with the sound of an arrow hitting in the door. Running around the console, Kayla and the Doctor made the TARDIS take off with Martha holding on for dear life.


	9. Interlude 3

The Doctor was making pancakes; Kayla was sitting a table and sipping a cup of coffee. Had anyway looked in on the couple, they would have seen two perfectly normal humans. The female was slightly pregnant, on that borderline of only people she told or strangers could tell. Speeding up this process, Kayla placed a hand on her stomach and then gave the Doctor a smile. As if sensing this, which of course he did the Time Lord turned around just to return that smile.

_‘What are we going to do today?’_ Kayla wondered absentmindedly, the smile still on her face as she fell into the easy habitat of conversing with the Doctor through their mental link. Because she had tried very hard to not do it when Martha around. But the black woman was still asleep, and according to the always helpful TARDIS, it was only 6 in the morning in London and Martha seemed to enjoy the extra hours of sleep she had been getting.

Having watched her mind flick through her thoughts, the Doctor waited until Kayla was done and replied, _‘Whatever you want, it’s a free day.’_

Kayla rolled her eyes. The idea of a free day was something the Doctor had thought up the instant they found out the brunette was pregnant. Instead of nonstop adventures, as they had been doing, the Doctor made them take a break after every adventure. They could do anything relaxing.

Of course Kayla didn’t really like this, but she couldn’t deny that just hanging out in the TARDIS or going to some different planet and just walk around was very nice. However, she didn’t know if Martha would like this. So she brought this up. _‘What about Martha? She might be expecting an adventure.’_

Just as the Doctor started to reply with his belief of, _‘She’ll understand,’_ the black woman walked into the TARDIS kitchen and looked around.

“Is the Doctor making pancakes?” Martha asked, looking in between the cooking Doctor and sitting Kayla.

Kayla looked up and gave Martha a grin. “Yes, he is. The Doctor likes cooking,” she explained calmly, not at all worried.

Blinking, Martha walked into the kitchen hesitantly and then sat down across from Kayla. “So, what are we doing today?”

“It’s a lazy day,” the Doctor replied from the stove, not turning around as he focused on the pancake he was making.

At the confused look Martha was giving her, Kayla explained, “We do nothing so I can have a bit of a rest.”

“Oh,” for a small moment, Martha seemed to be disappointed by that, but then she grinned. “I could work on my school work, or I could read Shakespeare.” Thinking on this, she absently picked up the glass of water in front of her and sipped on it. “Or take a bath. My back is killing me after that bed in London.”

Giving the black woman a grin, Kayla got up from the table and kissed the Doctor on the cheek. He grinned at her and asked, “Where are you going?”

Kayla nodded towards the hallway. “Just the bedroom.”

_‘Meet me in the bedroom as soon as possible._

And then Kayla left, acting as if she hadn’t just sent the Doctor an urgent message.

* * *

In the bedroom, about thirty minutes later, the Doctor hurriedly joined the brunette. “Is everything alright?” he asked, looking around the room as if something might be there, hiding.

Kayla shook her head and slipped out leather bound book filled with Shakespeare plays. “We changed something with Shakespeare, look.” Flipping through the pages, she showed the Doctor the page for…

“ _Hamnet?”_ the Doctor read off, a frown on his face. “But it’s supposed to be _Hamlet._ Look, here’s the dialogue and everything. It’s the same play...except the mother…what?”

The brunette nodded. “Shakespeare probably tried to make up with his wife in memory of their son. And so instead of the possibility of the mother being in on some of it, it’s this mysterious enchanters.”

Shaking his head, the Doctor sat down next to Kayla. “I wish this hadn’t happened,” he stated, “but it can’t be that big of a deal. In fact, it could be for the better.”

“Martha can’t find out,” Kayla replied simply, looking down at her hands as she spoke.

For a moment, the Doctor thought he had heard her wrong. Staring at her, the Doctor frowned. “But it isn’t that big of a deal,” he pointed out.

Kayla shook her head once more. “When she was so silent earlier, I checked her mind. Doctor, she’s worried about this time travelling and I want to show her the best of it.”

Seeing the point, though he didn’t agree with this and was clear about that in his thoughts, the Doctor wrapped an arm around Kayla’s shoulders. “Alright sweetheart, I’ll see what the TARDIS can do,” he vowed and then gave her a kiss on the temple.

Giving him a grateful smile, the brunette leaned into him and sighed, enjoying the peace of the moment. One hand slipped to her stomach and she rubbed it, feeling the little bump. Grinning, the Doctor placed his hand over hers.

“I love you,” Kayla whispered.

“I love you too,” the Doctor replied.

* * *

And that night, when Kayla and Martha were asleep and preparing for tomorrow’s adventures, the Doctor went through the TARDIS library, seeking out the Shakespeare books. With heavy hearts, he threw all the ones he could find out into space and then watched them drift off.

“This is what Kayla wanted,” he said to himself, seeing a copy of _Twelfth Night_ float past the doors. “And she has her reasons…even if I don’t agree with them.”

Shaking his head, the Doctor closed the TARDIS doors and went to join his Bonded. Because, as always, a Time Lord with his Bonded gave him strength.


	10. Gridlock Pt. 1

In the TARDIS, Martha found herself watching the Doctor and Kayla pilot the TARDIS. Occasionally, the Doctor would lift his leg up and smash down a button with his foot while flipping a few levers.

“Alright, we’ve done one trip to the past so…one trip to the future?” the Doctor asked, giving Kayla a grin.

Kayla shrugged and looked over at Martha. “You okay with that?” she inquired.

Martha nodded and gave the couple a grin that made Kayla’s heart tighten. The black women still didn’t know that _Hamlet_ was now _Hamnet_ and this fact was taking a toll on the couple, especially the Doctor. So far, despite it only being a day since they had thrown out the plays, the Doctor was feeling very, very guilty. And his growing guilt was bubbling over to Kayla, which made the brunette woman, who was already pretty irritable, _more_ irritable. Plus with the Doctor trying to explain to her and Martha that due to the time vortex, every day was like a week to her and she was now 8 weeks looking like she was pushing onto 16.

Glancing over at her at this during Kayla’s mental run-through, the Doctor gave her a weak smile and then turned to Martha to address her, who was patiently waiting for the two to finish whatever they were doing.

“How about a different planet?” he offered to the woman.

Martha grinned widely. “Like yours?” she shot back, “Can we go to yours?”

For a long moment, the TARDIS and the Time Lord couple paused. “What?” Kayla finally choked out, the first to break the silence.

“Can we go to the planet of the Time Lords?” Martha repeated, this time not sounding as excited or thrilled.

“Martha, the planet of the Time Lords…it doesn’t…”

The Doctor suddenly pulled down a lever more violently than he ever needed to and grounded out, “Ahh, there's plenty of other place!” he said in a forcefully cheery voice.

Kayla’s head instantly whipped around to stare at the Doctor, but he was staring down at the console. Due to her position, this meant that Martha couldn’t see how the Doctor looked as he technically lied to the woman, but Kayla could. This meant that Kayla was very able to see the Doctor’s jaw clench as he forced himself to smile and turn to Martha with a grin.

Not noticing this, the black woman continued to press the issue, however, “Come on, though! I mean, Planet of the Time Lords, that's got to be worth a look! What's it like?” Martha asked.

The Doctor just shrugged before responding. “Well, it's beautiful, yeah.”

Martha frowned, obviously not pleased with the general answer. “Is it like, you know, outer space cities, all spires and stuff?” she pressed.

Kayla glanced over at the Doctor who shifted idly before muttering, “Suppose it is.”

Blissfully unaware of the Doctor’s shifting and Kayla’s tense and worried looks, Martha grinned and continued on. “Great big temples and cathedrals!”

“Yeah,” the Doctor agreed softly.

“Lots of planets in the sky?” Martha asked.

A wistful expression started to grow on the Doctor’s face, something that made Kayla frown and look over at him. “The sky's a burnt orange, with the Citadel enclosed in a mighty glass dome, shining under the twin suns. Beyond that, the mountains go on forever – slopes of deep red grass, capped with snow,” he explained. By the time he was done, his eyes were locked on the console of the TARDIS, which was humming in a soft, almost mournful way.

Kayla, having never seen the Doctor so…wanting for Gallifrey, took a step forwards and placed a soft hand on his shoulder. He jerked and turned towards her. He shook his head slightly at the questioning look the brunette was giving him. He gave her a small kiss on the lips which made Martha huff and say in a louder tone than the one she was using before:

“Can we go there? To your home planet?”

Spinning around and away from Kayla, the Doctor seemed to snap back to his old mood. He started to pull down several levers and shook his head. “Naah! Where's the fun for me? I don't want to go home! Instead…”

Kayla crossed her arms but for the sake of the Doctor, she made herself smile so that Martha didn’t know. Yet another lie the dark skinned girl was being told by the two.

“This,” the Doctor started, “is much better. Year five billion and fifty-three, planet New Earth! Second hope of mankind! Fifty thousand light years from your old world, and we're slap bang in the middle of New New York. Although, technically it's the fifteenth New York from the original, so it's New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York. One of the most dazzling cities ever built.” By the time he was done talking, the TARDIS had shaken one more time and then it had landed.

Grabbing his overcoat and throwing it on, the Doctor took Kayla’s hand and walked with her out of the TARDIS with Martha behind him. Instantly, the three recoiled back at the feeling of cold liquid, rain, pouring onto them. Martha scowled and made a groaning noise as she quickly zipped up her jacket while Kayla ducked slightly and pressed back against the TARDIS.

“Oh, that's nice! Time Lord version of dazzling,” Martha grumbled as she followed Kayla’s actions and pressed against the wooden box.

The Doctor gave Kayla and Martha a grin. “Nah, bit of rain never hurt anyone. Come on, let's get under cover!”

Gripping Kayla’s hand tighter, he started to hurry though the streets with Martha behind them. The alleyway that they seemed to have landed it twisted out into a slightly less narrow street but that was equally as grimy and dirty as where they had been before.

“Well, it looks like the same old Earth to me. On a Wednesday afternoon,” Martha remarked.

Kayla nodded towards a screen, though it had static on it, with a slight grin. “That doesn’t look like Earth,” she pointed out.

The Doctor smiled and walked over to the screen. “Hold on, hold on. Let's have a look.” Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he soniced the screen, which made it come back to life. Suddenly, the voice of a pleasant-sounding woman reached them.

_“– and the driving should be clear and easy, with fifteen extra lanes open for the New New Jersey expressway.”_ The image on the screen shifted from the woman’s face to an unfamiliar landscape of rolling, oddly tinted hills. Behind said hills was a spiraling city that sparkled in the sun and was surrounded by a glistening lake. Sleek vehicles, cars most likely, flew through the air.

“Oh, that's more like it! That's the New we had last time. This must be the lower levels. Down in the base of the tower, some sort of under-city,” the Doctor explained with a nudge to Kayla. “Remember that time you weren’t feeling well?”

Kayla looked over at the Doctor with an odd expression on her face as she thought, but then her lips made a small ‘o’ shape as she realized when the Doctor was talking about. “Rose,” she said softly.

The Doctor gave a slight nod and held her gaze. _‘I want to make better memories here. Memories with you.’_

The brunette blushed slightly at that and leaned in closer to the Doctor, which made Martha shuffle awkwardly behind the couple. “So we’re in the slums?” She asked in a light voice.

The Doctor jerked slightly. “Much more interesting! It's all cocktails and glitter up there. This is the real city,” he explained to her.

Martha rolled her eyes while Kayla just gave the Doctor a smile. “You'd enjoy anything.” Martha remarked.

“That’s me,” the Doctor agreed. Tilting his head up, he grinned as he felt the rain start to slow down. “Oh, the rain's stopping! Better and better!”

The dark skinned girl looked over at Kayla, who gave a shrug. “So…you guys were here before?”

Kayla shook her head. “No, he brought Rose here while I wasn’t feeling well.”

“Rose?” Martha asked sharply, the clearly female name startling her.

Hearing the name, the Doctor frowned. “She was our last companion.”

Martha crossed her arms and frowned. “Last as in no more companions?”

The Doctor nudged Kayla slightly, which made the brunette roll her eyes at his actions. The Time Lady was warming up to Martha and had started to enjoy the idea of her being a full-time companion, but the Doctor

“Last,” the Time Lord corrected, “as in the one before.”

For a moment, Martha was silent, but then she asked, “You’re taking me to the same planets as you took her?”

Kayla shrugged. “I never got to come here,” she informed the girl.

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Kayla’s waist. “She wasn’t feeling well so I brought Rose. Now that Rose is gone, I decided Kayla should see New New-“

Before the Doctor could continue with another ‘new,’ Kayla kissed him lightly on the lips to stop him. It worked, which made the brunette pull back and smirk at him for a few moments before she then turned to back to Martha, who was grinning but also shifting in an uncomfortable manner.

“Sorry,” she apologized, “but otherwise we would be standing here for way to long.” She tapped the Doctor’s shoulder, which made him look over at her and then grin.

“Come on then,” the Doctor said. Taking Kayla’s hand he walked with her out of the alleyway, Martha tagging along afterwards with a slight shake of her head.

As they walked out of the alleyway and into a rather run-down circler area, a man in a street vender cart flipped open his cart’s door. At the noise, several other carts opened up until all the carts were opened and the venders were yelling out.

“Oh! You should have said. How long you been there? Happy! You want Happy!” the first vender yelled out.

Another vender called out, “Customers! Customers! We've got customers!”

“We're in business! Mother, open up the Mellow, and the Read!” A woman said in a loud and happy voice.

The first man seemed to frown for two seconds before he raised his voice over the girl and started to repeat, “Happy, Happy, lovely happy Happy”

“Anger! Buy some Anger!” the other vender from before offered.

“Get some Mellow, makes you feel all bendy and soft all day long!” The woman continued to cry out.

The first man rolled his eyes. “Younger, them. They'll rip you off. Do you want some happy?” he asked the Doctor directly.

The Doctor frowned and squeezed Kayla’s hand as the brunette said in his mind, _‘They’re selling patches of emotions as if they are drugs.’_

“No thanks,” the Doctor replied to the vender who had offered him happy.

Martha looked over at the couple, a frown also starting to form on her face as she listened to the people offering the different emotions. “Are they selling drugs?” the black woman asked.

The Doctor shook his head. “I think they're selling moods,” he corrected.

Martha shrugged. “Same thing, isn't it?” she countered.

Suddenly, the cries for sales, which has settled down since the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla had started talking to the vender and themselves, started up once more as bedraggled people started to walk into the circle. One pale woman dressed in very dark clothes stood out as she walked with intent towards the carts. The noise of her shoes made Kayla and the Doctor, and then Martha, turned towards her.

“Over here, sweetheart! That's it, come on, I'll get you first!” the woman vender said, her voice dripping with sweetness.

The vender behind the trio of time travelers tried to compete with a, “Oy! Oy, you! Over here! Over here! Buy some Happy!”

The pale woman, however, ignored him and continued to walk towards the female vender. “Come over here, yeah. And what can I get you, my love?” the vender asked in a soft, sweet voice.

“I want to buy Forget,” the pale woman said in a soft voice. Her accent had a slight lilt to it, as if English was a second language for her. And, judging by her paler-than-normal skin and red eyes, the woman was not human, which made Kayla point this out to the Doctor. The Time Lord had told her that New New York, and New Earth in general, was not that opened to obvious non-humans.

“I've got Forget, my darling. What strength? How much you want forgetting?”

The woman looked down and paused before swallowing hard. “It's my mother and father. They went on the motorway,” she answered.

The vender shook her head sympathetically. “Oh, that's so sweet,” she said…and then got down to business. Turning around, she grabbed a small and circular stamp of sorts and placed it on the counter in front of the woman. “Try this. Forget Forty-three. That's twopence.”

The Doctor, seeing the pale woman pay to buy something that would make her forget about her parents going on a motorway, grabbed Kayla’s hand in a better grip and walked purposefully towards the woman to stop her. Just as she was about to put the stamp onto her neck, the Doctor held his wrist out.

“Sorry, but – hold on a minute. What happened to your parents?” he asked.

The woman looked up at the Doctor and Kayla, her face a mixture of shock and sadness. “They drove off.”

Martha, seeing the Doctor and Kayla engaging with the woman, came over to say, “They might drive back.”

The pale woman just shook her head. “Everyone goes to the motorway in the end. I've lost them.”

“But they can't have gone far. You could find them,” the Doctor pressed after giving Martha quick smile.

Looking at them with confusion, the pale woman just sighed and, to their collective horror, stuck the stamp to her neck.

“No, no – no, don’t!” the Doctor protested, though he was far too late. By the time he was done speaking, the woman was just staring at him with a blank, serene expression on her face.

“I'm sorry, what were you saying?” the woman asked, sounding blank.

The Doctor exchanged a worried look with Kayla. The brunette was looking very uncomfortable. When he briefly touched into her mind, he saw that it was completely empty. Squeezing her hand, he took a step back with her so that she didn’t have to listen to Martha try to convince the girl to remember her.

Eventually, the pale woman walked off, which left the black woman to turn to the Doctor and Kayla with a scornful look on her face. “So that's the human race five billion years in the future. Off their heads on chemicals,” she scoffed.

And then, everything went to hell as Kayla felt an arm wrap around her waist. She let out a noise of surprise and started to try and move away, when she heard Martha yell out angrily. Realizing that someone was trying to hurt her, Kayla started to fight against the grip. But as she tried to heave her way out of the person’s grasp, she felt one of her hands glide over her stomach, which made Kayla freeze. She had a child, and if she hurt that child by fighting too hard than she would never forgive herself.

So she allowed herself to go limp. She looked up to see the Doctor running to her, his mouth open in horror. Feeling the man press something to her neck and her mind start to go foggy.

_‘Kayla!’_ The Doctor cried out into her mind as he felt a similar fogginess and stumbled some. Next to him, Martha grabbed his arm and looked over.

“Bring her back! Bring her back right now!”

“Kayla!”

_‘Doctor…find me.’_ And then everything went dark.

* * *

The Doctor was on a warpath. He had grabbed Martha by the arm, because the girl was just standing and staring after the car and the two that had grabbed Kayla, and had then dragged the woman until she started to stumble after him.

“Doctor,” Martha tried to start, but the Time Lord just ignored her. Instead, he stormed up to one of the carts and banged on the flap until it opened. The male vender from before, the one that had offered him Happy, looked out with a surprised look on his face.

“Do you want some Happy?” He offered, “I think you might need some.”

The Doctor nearly growled. “Where did they take her?” he asked in a steely voice.

At the question, the vender blinked and then shifted uncomfortably. “You sure you don’t want some Happy?” he tried.

Before the Doctor could do something to force the information out of the vender, the woman vender from earlier poked her head out. “Looked like carjackers to me.” She shook her head. “They’ve taken her to the motorway.”

 “The motorway?” Martha asked.

The Happy sender sighed and nodded. “The motorway. Used to be thriving in this place. You couldn't move. But they all go to the motorway in the end.”

The Doctor rolled his eyes. He was clearly not in the mood of reminiscing about when the drug/emotion trade was a bigger. Making sure he had both sellers in eye sight, he barked at them, “He kept on saying three, we need three. What did he mean, three?”

“It's the car-sharing policy, to save fuel. You get special access if you're carrying three adults,” the woman explained.

The Doctor nodded and briefly glanced over at Martha with a clear question in his eyes. In response, she gave a nod in return. “This motorway – how do I get there?” he asked the sellers.

The woman seller sighed as if she had expected this. “Straight down the alley, keep going to the end. You can't miss it,” she answered.

Without looking back, the Doctor hurried down the alleyway. Martha started after with a hurried, “Thank you,” before she followed the Time Lord to the motorway.

* * *

Kayla was no stranger to emotions drugs, like the Sleep that was used on her. The Time Agency had extensive training for any sort of drug their agent could come across. Feeling the throbbing continue, she ripped the drugged stamp off and read the label. **‘Sleep 14.’**

Reaching up, she rubbed her eyes as she thought through the side effects for the drug. Nothing that she thought of included anything that could harm her child. Still, she briefly ran both her hands over her stomach and left out a breath of relief as it felt the same.

Not sitting up yet, she focused on the voices of her kidnappers. One was clearly male and the other was female. Both sounded pleased. There was a few beeps from the vehicle she was in, because she was sure she was in a vehicle judging by the constant movement, which made her sit up just enough to look around. She was on a small cot of sorts. Cans of what appeared to liquid and pills were stacked nearby.

Sitting up more, she got a look at her kidnappers. The woman was dark-skinned. She had brown hair that was pulled up and rather messy and was wearing a black shirt and pants along with a wool-looking jacket. Next to her was a man with slightly lighter skin but the same dark brown hair and black shirt and pants. These were her two kidnappers.

Eyeing them for a few more moments, she looked around to try and find something to use on one of them to get the other to turn around. Guns were useless, as they hardly every work in this time period. She briefly eyed a small metal object nearby but then sighed as she realized it was just a mirror.

Sitting up fully, she decided the best course of action would be to grab one of the prevision jars as a weapon. As the two kidnappers prattled on about apple grass, Kayla moved silently to the cans. As she reached the group and tried to pick one up, the brunette realized the can was connected to the other ones to keep them from falling. Disconnecting them would take time she didn’t have, so she instead settled on moving back to the cot and ‘coming to’ in a noisy fashion.

At the noise of her groaning, the woman kidnapper swiveled around in her chair. “Good, you’re awake.” She nudged the man next to her with a small grin, “I told you we didn’t give her the wrong dose.”

The man didn’t really move except for a small smile he sent towards the girl. This made the girl roll her eyes and give Kayla a friendly smile. “What’s your name?”

Kayla raised an eyebrow slowly, which made the woman shrug. Seeing that the woman was actually trying to be polite, the brunette replied, “Kayla Hark. Former Time Agent.”

Having expected some sort of response from the name of her former job, Kayla was surprised when the woman beamed and asked, “What’s a Time Agent?”

Kayla just shook her head. “You really don’t want to know,” she stressed. Getting up, she moved so that she was closer to the couple. The woman grinned widely at this, probably seeing the movement as a show of trust on Kayla’s part.

“Well, I'm Cheen, and this is Milo. And I swear we're sorry. We're really, really sorry. We just needed access to the fast line, but I promise, as soon as we arrive, we'll drop you off and you can go back and find your friend.”

Kayla scoffed at this. “Seriously?” She pointed out, and then shook her head. “Like I would believe that.”

The woman, Cheen, shook her head. “I swear! Look –“ Moving a bit of hair that had fallen and covered the side of her neck, Cheen showed Kayla a small patch with **‘Honesty’** typed on it. “Honesty patch,” she finished unnecessarily.

Kayla rolled her eyes. “You still kidnapped me to get into some sort of ‘fast line,’” Shaking her head, the brunette looked out the window in front of her. Outside the vehicle, all she could see was some sort of dirty smoke. “Where are we?” she asked, not recognizing the surrounding.

“We're on the motorway,” the man, Milo, answered as he steered the apparent car.

Trying to think of where she might have heard the name and then frowning when it came up blank, Kayla peered outside again. “So is that exhaust?” She asked.

Milo nodded. “We're going out to Brooklyn. Everyone says the air's so much cleaner, and we couldn't stay in Pharmacy Town, 'cause…” pausing, he rubbed Cheen’s knee and sent her a loving grin.

“Well, 'cause of me. I'm pregnant. We only discovered it last week. Scan says it's going to be a boy,” the woman finished.

Kayla blinked at her and then, almost automatically, one of her hands drifted down to her stomach. “I don’t know yet,” she said in a softer voice, “My….my Bonded and I want to keep it a surprise.”

Cheen nodded and then gave Kayla a huge grin. “We could tell. That’s why Milo and I grabbed you. We were going to grab the other girl with you but then we realized our kids could grow up together.”

By the end of Cheen’s sentence, Kayla was completely frozen. “Are you…are you insane?” She almost hissed. “You kidnapped me. I’m not going to let our kids be close. Besides, I am not giving birth for a _long_ time. What makes you think I’ll stick around? The Doctor will find me, like he always does.”

Once Kayla was done talking, Cheen looked very hurt while Milo shifted uncomfortably.

“Fine, if you want to be like that. But we’re going to be in the same car for six years-“

“Hang on,” Kayla cut in, interrupting Cheen, “six years?”

Milo nodded. “We'll take the motorway to the Brooklyn flyover, and then after that it's gonna take awhile, 'cause then there's no fast lane, just ordinary roads, but at least it's direct,” Milo explained.

“It’s only ten miles,” Cheen put in, “so six years.” The brunette stared at Cheen in horror as the woman giggled and rubbed her stomach. “Be just in time for him to start school.”

“Why is it going to take six years to go _ten_ miles?” Kayla hissed.

* * *

Having been picked up by an older cat-man named Brannigan, his human wife named Valerie, and their tiny kitten children, the Doctor and Martha stood in the moving car as Brannigan explained that they had been driving, on the motorway, for twelve years.

“Started out as newlyweds! Feels like yesterday.” Brannigan said with a fond smile to his wife.

His wife gave him a slightly less fond smile. “Feels like twelve years to me,” she replied with a shake of her head.

Having probably heard her irritations about how long the driving was taking before, Brannigan started to tickle Valerie’s side. “Ahh, sweetheart, but you're still lovely,” he promised.

Next to the Doctor, Martha shifted uncomfortably and the Time Lord scratched the back of his neck before interrupting, “Twelve years?! How far did you come? Where did you start?”

“Battery Park. It's five miles back,” Brannigan answered with a seemingly pleased expression on his face. Though how driving five miles in _twelve_ years was a good thing to him made no sense to the Doctor and Martha, and any idea the Time Lord could come up with made the man very, very worried about the fate of his Bonded.

“You travelled five miles in twelve years?” Martha asked sharply.

“I think you two are a bit slow,” Brannigan stated with a teasing look.

Giving her husband a small smile, Valerie looked up at the two time travelers. “Where are you from?” she asked.

The Doctor just waved his hand, knowing that the true explanation of ‘I’m an ancient alien race from a planet that doesn’t exist because I blew it up’ might worry the woman, especially because of her children.

“Never mind that, I've got to get out. My wife is in one of these cars. She was taken hostage. I should get back to the TARDIS.” Nodding to Martha, who gave a shrug, the Doctor slid opened the door Brannigan had pulled them through only to be welcomed with a cloud of smoke that prompted a coughing fit.

Seeing that he was too busy coughing, Martha quickly shut the door. Putting an arm around the Doctor to help him turn around, Martha started to pat him forcibly on the back to help him cough as she gave Brannigan a pointed questioning look.

“You're too late for that. We've passed the lay-by,” the cat-man explained. “You’re a passenger now!”

Martha shook her head and looked over at the Doctor, who looked horrified at this information. “When's the next lay-by?”

Brannigan paused and seemed to have to think on the information, something that made the two time travelers exchange stricken and worried looks.

“Oh…six months?” Brannigan guessed with a shrug.

* * *

In Kayla’s vehicle, Kayla peered through at the fog in front of the car. After she had gotten over her shock of how long six miles would take, she grilled the couple so that she could find out that the reason why it would take twelve years. The reason was not good. It was because the entire motorway was just a giant traffic jam. That was why no one reportedly came back from the motorway, if they somehow reached their destination, something that Kayla was starting to doubt, then who would get _back_ on the motorway?

Shaking her head, Kayla tried to see another car outside the vehicle, but couldn’t see any. “How many cars are out there?” she finally asked Cheen. Despite how much she did not want to talk to the couple, they had kidnaped her after all, the brunette had decided that she could at least get information from them. It would be a way to bide her time until she could contact the Doctor, because to stop himself from passing out, he had blocked off his mind. Until he opened it back up, Kayla couldn’t contact the Time Lord and tell him where she was.

Cheen looked over at the brunette, a slight expression of hope on her face. “I don't think anyone knows,” she answered with a shrug.

Kayla sighed and crossed her arms. “How far are we from the bottom? From the fast lane?”

“Oh, it's right at the bottom, underneath the traffic jam. But not many people can afford three passengers, so it's empty down there. Rumor has it you can reach up to thirty miles per hour,” Milo explained.

Kayla rolled her eyes. She wasn’t much of a driver, but even she knew that driving thirty miles per hour was nothing. “Wow,” she mustered up sarcastically.

Cheen and Milo laughed and then a silence settled in the car as Cheen munched on a recycled waste product wafer.

“Oh, another gap, this is brilliant!” Milo cheered as he drove forwards.

**_“Car sign in,”_** a female automated voice requested.

Milo nudged a very excited Cheen before he spoke into the transmitter, “Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent to fast lane, thank you very much.”

There was a pause, and then, **_“Please drive safely.”_**

Milo grinned widely as he drove the car to a descent. For better or for worse, Kayla was headed to the fast lane.

* * *

Having blocked up the link to Kayla so that he didn’t end up passing out, the Doctor stood in the moving car with a vocal transmitter in hand as he tried to contact New New York’s police. Behind him, Martha was peering at the screen that had a rotating New New York Police Department insignia.

However, what was very troubling about the New New York Police Department was that when the Doctor had barked his urgent method that he needed to talk to the police, an automated voice replied with, **_“Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold.”_**

Martha blinked at the words that also appeared on the screen, and then looked at the Doctor. The Time Lord looked just as flabbergasted as the black woman felt.

“But you're the police!” the Doctor protested with a shake of his head.

**_“Thank you for your call. You have been placed on hold,”_** the voice merely repeated.

Seeing that they were not going to get anywhere else with the police department, the Doctor scrambled to the front of the car to talk to the couple. “Is there anyone else? I once met the Duke of Manhattan; is there any way of getting through to him?” he asked the sitting two urgently.

Martha stared at him and made a noise that was a clear, ‘really?’ In response, the Doctor just waved his hand at her, not in the position to respond.

Seeming to agree with her response, Brannigan gave the Doctor an odd look as he tried to imagine him meeting with the Duke of Manhattan. Since he couldn’t he decided to ask say, “Oh, now, ain't you lordly?”

The Doctor just shook his head. “I got to find my wife.”

“You can't make outside calls. The motorway's completely enclosed,” Valerie explained with a shake of her head.

The Doctor frowned and looked over to Martha. “What about the other cars?” she asked the couple.

Brannigan grinned at that. “Oh, we've got contact with them, yeah. Well, some of them, anyway. They've got to be on your friends list. Now, let's see – who's nearby? Ahh! The Cassini sisters!” Grabbing the transmitter, he held it up to speak into it. “Still your hearts, my handsome girls. It's Brannigan here.”

After a crackling pause, an older woman who was clearly smiling replied, **_“Get off the line, Brannigan. You're a pest and a menace.”_**

Brannigan grinned and nudged Valerie, who rolled her eyes and gave the Doctor and Martha a simple shrug. “Oh, come on, now, sisters. Is that any way to talk to an old friend?” The cat-man protested jokingly.

**_“You know full well we're not sisters. We're married,”_** the same woman informed him.

“Oooh, stop that modern talk! I'm an old-fashioned cat. Now, I've got two hitchhikers here, one calls himself the Doctor and the other one is…” pausing, he looked over at Martha.

“Martha,” the black woman introduced.

Brannigan nodded and relayed the name into the transmitter before handing it to the Doctor.

“Hello. Sorry. I'm looking for someone called Kayla Hark, though she could be going by Kayla Smith or Kayla Harkness. She's been carjacked. She's inside one of these vehicles, but I don't know which one,” the Doctor explained urgently.

**_“Wait a minute,”_** another older woman’s voice came over. After a slight pause as she opened something with pages in it, the woman asked, **_“Could I ask, what entrance did they use?”_**

Martha looked over at Brannigan and asked, “Where did you pick us up?”

“Pharmacy Town,” the cat-man answered.

Hearing the answer, the Doctor relayed the entrance name as well as the time of about twenty minutes ago. Seeming pleased with the information, the second older woman said, **_“Let's have a look.”_**

The other older woman sighed and then grumbled, **_“Just my luck, to marry a car-spotter.”_**

Ignoring this, the second old woman said, **_“In the last half hour, fifty-three new cars joined from the Pharmacy Town junction.”_**

Frustrated, the Doctor ran his hand through his hair. “Anything more specific?” he urged.

**_“All in good time. Was she car-jacked by two people?”_** the second woman asked.

The Doctor nodded. “Yes, she was, yeah,” he sighed. Hearing the defeat, the utter sadness in his voice, Martha gave him a small squeeze on the Time Lord’s arm as they waited for the woman to reply.

Finally, she said, **_“There we are. Just one of those cars was destined for the fast lane. That means they had three on board. And car number is four six five diamond six.”_**

“That's it! So how do we find them?” the Doctor asked, a wide smile on his face. They were finally, finally getting somewhere.

**_“Ah. Now, there I'm afraid I can't help,”_** the woman said with a sigh.

Martha turned to Brannigan. “Can you call them on this…thing?” she requested with a wave to the transmitter.

Brannigan shook his head. “Not if they're designated fast lane. It's a different class,” he explained

**_“You could try the police,”_** the second woman tried.

The Doctor shook his head. “They put me on hold,” he informed her.

**_“You’ll have to keep trying. There’s no one else,”_** the first woman informed him.

Sighing and running his hand through his hair, the Doctor said, “Thank you,” and handed Brannigan the transmitter.

Once again, the Doctor felt completely and utterly stuck. His Bonded had been kidnapped and he and Martha were stuck in a car for six months. Closing his eyes, the Doctor decided to risk passing out and opened up his mental link to Kayla.

_‘Kayla, are you alright?’_

Instantly, the brunette replied, _‘Doctor! Doctor I’m in a car headed down to the fast lane.’_

_‘I know Kayla. Martha and I are going to find you. I promise.’_

_‘I know you will, Doctor. I love you.’_

_‘I love you to.’_

Opening his eyes, the Doctor grinned at Martha. “She’s okay,” he told the black woman.

Martha blinked at him and then, picking up on who he was talking about, the woman smiled widely. “That’s great!”

The Doctor nodded. “And we’re going to get her and then get back to the TARDIS.”


	11. Gridlock Pt. 2

Having been kidnapped by a barely pregnant woman named Cheen and her husband Milo, Kayla Hark was holding onto the side of the car she was in as the vehicle descended shakily though the fog and other honks of cars. Placing a hand on her stomach, Kayla sighed and looked at the screen. Displayed on it, the brunette could watch as the car moved from level 39 to level 43.

“See? Another ten layers to go. We're scorching,” Milo said with a point to the screen.

Kayla blinked at Milo. “I really hope I don’t end up seeing what a bad day is.”

Milo frowned at that but said nothing. As a silence fell over the car, the three occupants all froze as they heard a low noise coming from under them. The noise was like a mix between a creak and a growl, and whatever was making the noise was very, very bad.

“What was that?” Kayla breathed. As if to tease her, the sound came again, which made the brunette shiver as she felt the floor of the car vibrate. “It’s coming from underneath.”

Cheen just gave Milo a worried look. “It does have noise, doesn't it? It's like Kate said. The stories are true,” she told him.

“What stories?” Kayla asked sharply.

Milo rolled his eyes. “It's the sound of the air vents. That's all. The exhaust fumes travel down, so at the base of the tunnel they've got air vents,” he explained in an exasperated manner.

Cheen shook her head. “No, the stories are much better,” she informed Kayla, which made Milo chuckle and look away.

“They say people go missing on the motorway. Some cars just vanish, never to be seen again. 'Cause there's something living down there, in the smoke. Something huge. And hungry. And if you get lost on the road…it's waiting for you,” Cheen told Kayla with fake wide eyes.

Kayla frowned. “Aren’t all myths based off of fact?” she pointed out, which made Milo sigh. “And,” the brunette continued, “Why are we going down there and risking it? Does it look like there are air vents out there?”

At her last words, Milo and Cheen exchanged worried looks and then looked out at the smog in front of them as the ominous noise got louder…and louder.

“What is it?” Cheen breathed with a nervous look to her husband.

Seeming just as worried, it took a moment for Milo to fake being okay. “Nah. Kid stuff,” he said with a shake of his head. Grabbing the transmitter, he spoke into it, “Car Four Six Five Diamond Six, on descent.”

* * *

In the car with the Doctor, Martha, Brannigan, Valerie, and the kitten, the Doctor felt a flash a worry through the mental bond he shared with Kayla. Giving Martha a worried look, the Doctor hurried to the front of the car.

“We've got to go to the fast lane. Take me down,” he requested to the two.

At this, Brannigan’s fur bristled. “Not a million years,” he practically snapped.

The Doctor frowned and shook his head. “You’ve got four passengers!” he protested.

“I'm still not going,” Brannigan stated.

The Doctor shook his head. “That’s my wife, my Bonded, down there. She’s pregnant and alone and…it’s all my fault. I'm asking you, Brannigan – take me down,” the Time Lord begged. Hearing his voice cracking, Martha placed a calming hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile.

Valerie, however, was not moved by this display. Instead, she gave the Doctor and Martha a stony look. “That's a no. And that's final. I'm not risking the children down there.”

Martha frowned at this. “What happens down there?” she wondered.

Crossing her arms, Valerie gave the black woman a glare. “We're not discussing it! The conversation is closed!”

The Doctor huffed. “So we keep on driving,” he said in a sarcastic voice.

Brannigan nodded. “Yes we do.”

“But for how long?” Martha asked, which earned her a slight smile from the Doctor.

Brannigan just shook his head. “'Till the journey's end.”

Not agreeing with this answer, the Doctor snatched the transmitter from before and said, “Mrs. Cassini, this is the Doctor. Tell me, how long have you been driving on the motorway?”

**_“Oh, we were amongst the first. It's been twenty-three years now,”_** the first woman from before replied in a proud, happy voice.

Not sharing this emotion, in fact the Doctor looked horrified, the Time Lord asked a question that sent chills down the four drivers’ spine. “And in all that time, have you ever seen a police car?”

There was a pause as the car tracker seemed to mull this over. Then, **_“I'm not sure.”_**

The Doctor shook his head. “Look at your notes. Any police?” he pressed.

**_“Not as such,”_** the car tracker said in an upset voice.

“Or an ambulance? Rescue service? Anything official? Ever?” he continued, his voice growing harder.

**_“I can't keep a note of everything,”_**  she snapped.

Knowing that he had made everyone think this question, the Doctor asked, “What if there's no one out there?”

His fur bristling once more, Brannigan snatched the transmitter from the Time Lord. “Stop it. The Cassinis were doing you a favor,” he protested.

Martha shook her head. “He’s right. Someone had to ask.”

The Doctor gave Martha a brief grin before turning back to Brannigan. “You might not want to talk about it, but it’s there. In your eyes.” And indeed, the horror at what the Doctor was implying was in the cat-man’s eyes. And it only grow as he asked in a soft voice, “What if the traffic jam never stops?”

“There's a whole city above us. The mighty city-state of New New York. They wouldn't just leave us,” Brannigan tried, but he didn’t sound or seem so sure.

The Doctor just crossed his arms. “In that case, where are they? Hmm? What if there's no help coming, not ever? What if there's nothing? Just the motorway, with the cars going round and round and round, never stopping? Forever?”

The doubt and the fear getting to her, Valerie snapped, “Shut up! Just shut up!”

Stopping, the Doctor took a step back and Martha did as well. An uncomfortable, pregnant silence fell in the car until the screen suddenly crackled to life and the woman Kayla, the Doctor, and Martha had seen before appeared on screen.

**_“This is Sally Calypso, and it's that time again. The sun is blazing high in the sky over the New Atlantic, the perfect setting for the daily contemplation.”_ **

Brannigan gave the Doctor and Martha a withering look. “You two think you know us so well. But we're not abandoned. Not while we have each other.” His words making Valerie smile, the woman took the cat-man’s hand.

**_“This is for all of you out there on the roads. We're so sorry. Drive safe.”_ **

And then, Valerie and Brannigan started to sing. _“On a hill, far away. Stood an old, rugged cross. The emblem of suffering and shame. And I love that old cross. Where the dearest and best. For a world of lost sinners was slain.”_

* * *

In Kayla’s car, the brunette watched, a hand on her stomach, as Milo and Cheen sang together. _“So I'll cherish the old, rugged cross, rugged cross. Till my trophies at last I lay down, I lay down. I will cling to the old, rugged cross, rugged cross. And exchange it some day for a crown.”_

As the two’s voices faded out, the electronic voice piped up from the screen, **_“Fast lane access, please drive safely.”_**

Milo and Cheen exchanged excited looks, their worry about what could be down there forgotten. “We made it. The fast lane,” Milo breathed.

While Kayla closed her eyes and prayed that everything would turn out alright, Milo drove the car out of the long mass of honking lanes and drove downwards.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Doctor felt his stomach drop as he heard Kayla say, _‘I’m heading down to the fast lane and…something is down there, Doctor.’_

Growling, the Time Lord looked over at Martha. “Time to go,” he said.

Martha stared at him in shock. “What do you mean?”

Ignoring her, the Doctor turned to Brannigan and Valerie. “If you won't take us, we'll go down on our own.”

Still very confused, Martha could only watch along with Brannigan and Valerie as the Doctor scramble to the middle of the car with his sonic screwdriver in hand and started to inspect the floor.

“What do you think you're doing?” Brannigan somehow mustered up the breath to ask.

The Doctor, immersed in his work, answered after a brief pause, “Finding my own way. I usually do,” he told them. Sonicing a panel in the floor of the car, he grinned as he pulled the panel away to revel the car under them with a similar panel on the roof of it.

**_“Capsule open,”_** the voice informed them unnecessarily.

Straightening up, the Doctor grinned at Martha. “Here we go,” he said. Taking off his brown overcoat, he throw it over to Valerie who barely caught it in her shock. “Look after this. I love that coat. Janis Joplin gave me that coat. Kayla loves that coat.”

Valerie stared down at the coat with her mouth slightly opened and then looked back up at the Doctor and a rather shifty looking Martha. “But you can't jump!”

The Doctor just shook his head. “If it's any consolation, Valerie, right now, I'm having kittens,” he informed the woman.

Brannigan looked at the two in shock. “This Kayla…you must really love her,” he breathed.

“She’s my wife and pregnant. And we were too busy lying to Martha here to really get to know her. But that’s going to change,” the Doctor stated as he rubbed his hand together.

“What?!” Martha yelped, her eyes widening as she looked at the Doctor. “What do you mean you’re lying to me?”

The Doctor waved his hand, his ears starting to turn pink as they usually did when he got embarrassed. “I’ll explain later,” he vowed.

Martha frowned and crossed her arms but then sighed, “You better,” she grumbled.

Nodding, the Doctor gave Brannigan and Valerie one big smile and then, with a, “Bye then!” he had jumped from the hole in the floor to the next car. Looking back at up at Martha, he called down, “Come on!”

Inhaling sharply, Martha gave Brannigan and Valerie a smile and then jumped down and landed next to the Doctor, who was already opening up the next hole in the car. “Took you long enough,” the Doctor informed her.

Martha gave him a sharp look and coughed as the Doctor soniced opened the hatch. Helping Martha down into the car, he appeared next to her and the two briefly took in the pale white man dressed in an even whiter suit staring at him with an opened mouth.

“Who the hell are you?” the man snapped.

Waving his hand at Martha, the Doctor crouched on the floor to start opening up the next hatch, which left Martha to blabber out, “Motorway Foot Patrol. How are you enjoying it so far?”

The man blinked and then frowned. “Well, not very much. Junction Five's been closed for three years!” he protested.

Giving a nod, the Doctor slide the hatch away and looked up at the man. “Thank you. Your comments have been noted. Have a nice day!” Popping through the hole, Martha followed suit.

Landing on the next car, the Doctor coughed throughout the entire time he opened the hatch until he was in the car with Martha, who was coughing slightly less than him. The two barely registered the two Asian woman who started to speak in a language they couldn’t understand. Instead, the Doctor just waved his hand and Martha muttered something about their, “comments being heard.”

As the Doctor soniced open the panel, Martha grabbed two handkerchiefs and tied one around her mouth before giving the other one to the Doctor to do the same.

Giving her a grateful look for this, the Doctor held his up and said to the two women, “Do you mind if I borrow this? Not my color, but thank you very much.”

Not really waiting for a reply, he pushed open the hatch and jumped down to the next car, Martha quickly following him. Neither of them coughing as much, the Doctor opened the hatch, dropped into the next car, and then started working on the hatch on the floor while Martha gave the large red man a small smile. Once the Doctor was done and had moved the panel away, he saluted the man and then the two dropped down to continue their mission.

_‘I’m coming Kayla!’_

* * *

Hearing the promise in her head, Kayla sighed in relief and then crossed her arms as the Milo continued to tap on the screen at the front of the car that was displaying the three different exits for the Brooklyn Junction. Somehow, all three of the exits were closed.

“This can’t be right,” Kayla muttered.

“Try again,” Cheen half-begged.

Not needing to be told, Milo tapped the button that read **‘EXIT 1.’** At the bottom of the screen, however, a large red message beeped **‘JUNCTION CLOSED.’**

Echoing this sentiment the car’s electronic voice said, **_“Brooklyn Turnoff One closed.”_**

“Try the next one,” Cheen told her husband.

Milo did, and, like before, the **‘JUNCTION CLOSED’** message popped up and the voice informed them that, **_“Brooklyn Turnoff Two closed.”_**

Letting out an anguished moan, Cheen shook her head and looked at her husband. “What do we do?”

Milo’s face settled as his hands clenched onto the wheel. “We'll keep going round. We'll do the whole loop. By the time we come back round, they'll be open.”

Barely holding back a snort, Kayla’s mirth evaporated at the same horrible groan that had come before. Shifting, Kayla saw her own unease mimicked on Milo’s and Cheen’s face. “Still say that that’s an air vent?” the brunette asked with a pointed look to the even smoggier outside.

Milo gave a weak shrug. “What else could it be?” he wondered, which made everyone all pause at the idea.

The sound came again, and Cheen asked, “What the hell is that?” as the slightly pregnant woman realized the noise seemed closer than before.

“It's just – the hydraulics,” Milo suggested weakly.

Kayla crossed her arms and looked out at the smog. “Whatever is making that noise, it sounds like it’s alive,” she stated.

“It's all exhaust fumes out there. Nothing could breathe in that,” Milo pointed out.

 Just shaking her head, Kayla’s hand drifted down to her stomach involuntarily. “Not unless it’s made to breathe that…” she whispered, which made Cheen shiver in horror.

And then the worried silence was broken as the electronic voice spoke up and said, **_“Calling Car Four Six Five Diamond Six. Repeat, calling Car Four Six Five Diamond Six.”_**

Exchanging a worried look with his wife, Milo picked up the transmitter and spoke into it. “This is Car Four Six Five Diamond Six. Who's that? Where are you?”

Immediately, a female voice spoke into the transmitter sharply. **_“I'm in the fast lane, about fifty yards behind. Can you get back up? Can you get off the fast lane?”_**

“We only have permission to go down. We – we need the Brooklyn Flyover,” Milo explained with a sigh.

**_“It's closed. Go back up,”_** the woman snapped.

Milo shrugged. “We can't. We'll just go round,” he suggested.

**_“Don't you understand? They're closed. They're always closed,”_** the woman stressed, which made Cheen make a horrified squeaking noise and clasp hand over her mouth while Kayla closed her eyes and muttered a curse under her breath. **_“We're stuck down here. And there's something else. Out there, in the fog. Can't you hear it?”_**

As if to agree with her, the roaring that the three had been hearing seemed to get louder and grow until it was defiantly nothing else _but_ a shill-sounding roar from something alive.

“That's the air vents,” Milo whispered in a dry voice.

Kayla shook her head, and apparently her sentiment was a shared because the woman snapped, **_“Jehovah! What are you, some stupid kid? Get out of here!”_**

The roar came again loudly and then, even more troubling, the woman and two other female voice started to scream. Milo jumped at the sound and shouted, “What was that?” while Cheen just pressed her hand to her mouth and shook her head.

**_“I can't move! They've got us!”_** The woman’s voice rang out through the screams.

“But what's happening?” Milo asked.

Rolling her eyes, Kayla grabbed the transmitter. “What is going on? _What_ has got you?”

There was just unintelligible yelling as the people screamed in horror as something was killing them.

“Hello?” Milo called worriedly into the transmitter.

More screaming and then, the woman cried out, **_“Just drive, you idiots! Get out of here! Get out!”_**

Milo shook his head. “Can you hear me?! Hello?!”

Kayla rolled her eyes and glared at the man. “Never mind them, they’re dead! Now drive before we end up like them!”

The man clutched the steering wheel so tightly his knuckled turned white. “But where?” he asked helplessly.

“Straight ahead and face! Damnit Milo, drive!”

“What is it? What's out there? What is it?” Cheen sobbed.

* * *

Still dropping through the different cars, the Doctor pulled open the hatch and dropped down with Martha following. Inside their newest car, a man in pinstripe suit leaning against his steering wheel stared at them with wide eyes.

“'Scuse me, is that legal?” the man asked, his eyes widening even more at how loudly and badly the Doctor and Martha were coughing. The bandanas the two had grabbed seemed to have done little to block out the pollution in the end and their lungs were defiantly paying the price.

“Sorry, Motorway Foot Patrol,” the Doctor attempted to say but gave up and just focused on trying to get his coughing under control.

Time Lords were technically supposed to have stronger lungs, which helped him and Kayla a little bit when the air was disappearing, but he had always had weaker lungs, even for a Time Lord. In fact, when he had told Kayla about his weak lungs, the brunette had laughed and informed him that he basically had asthma. She had found it rather funny, especially when the Doctor had started to pout at her reaction.

Nevertheless, the pollution was just the kind of thing to aggravate the Doctor, which is was why he was taking the air so hard and coughing so much, even more than the very worried Martha.

“Sorry, but do you have any water?” the black woman asked the strange man.

Blinking, the man took a few moments to actually realize what the woman had said, and then he took a few more moments until he actually went over to a water cooler that would not look out of place in an office, complete with the little cone-shaped cups, and started to poor the water for the Time Lord. “Certainly. Never let it be said I've lost my manners,” he told them.

Giving the cup to Martha, who quickly gave it to the Doctor, the man looked at the two travelers continued to look at the two in shock. His eyes seem to keep getting wider and wider, which made Martha shift uncomfortable and look over at the Doctor.

Seeming to have finally gotten his coughing under control, the Doctor noticed Martha’s look and nodded. Turning to the man, he engaged him conversation by asking, “Is this the last layer?”

The man blinked and then slowly nodded. “Ah, we're right at the bottom. Nothing below us but the fast lane.”

“Can we drive down?” the Doctor pointed out.

The man frowned. “Well I’ve already put in that I’m alone and I don’t want to risk the wheel locking,” he explained while shifting quite a bit.

Giving him an odd look, the Doctor went over to the hatch on the floor of the car and started to sonic it. The Time Lord could tell the man was not telling him everything, he was lying essentially, and that meant he was keeping him away from Kayla. And if he was keeping him from Kayla then…

Taking a deep breath to control himself, the Doctor focused on his work while the man said, “What are you doing?” And then, “What is he doing? Is he going to jump? You can’t jump. It’s a thousand feet down!”

“I’m just going to check,” the Doctor huffed as he pulled open the hatch and looked down at the smog underneath the car. He could barely make out the lights of far off what must be cars in the smoke. And then, faintly, he heard a small, screeching roar.

_‘Kayla, are you alright? Is there something done there with you?’_

_‘Doctor there’s something here. It’s been eating the different cars in the fast lane. I’m not going to let whatever is out there to get us.’_

Closing his eyes and clenching his fists, the Doctor looked down as the noise came again.

“What was that?” Martha breathed, her eyes wide as she too heard it.

The man shifted and looked down at the floor of the car. “I try not to think about it,” he admitted.

Realizing that this noise was the reason why the man didn’t want to go down to the fast lane and it had nothing to do with his wheel locking, the Doctor nearly mimicked the growling from below as he figured out that he was lying to him and keeping him from Kayla, from his Bonded.

“Take us down there,” he commanded the man.

The man blinked at this, at the low voice the Doctor was using. He looked over at Martha, who held up a hand and pulled the Doctor aside. “Doctor,” she hissed, “We can’t go down there or we’ll end up like Kayla. We don’t even know what’s down there.”

Closing his eyes, the Doctor took several deep breaths before he nodded. “You’re right,” he agreed. “We have to know what we’re going into.”

Her eyes widening, Martha watched as the Doctor went over to the screen at the front of the car and started to sonic the screen, messing with it.

“What are you doing?” the man asked with a look over at Martha, who shrugged.

“There must be some sort of ventilation. If I could just transmit a pulse through this thing, maybe I could trip the system, give us a bit of a breeze,” he explained in a rush voice as he worked on the screen. Going towards the screen, he pulled it off, which made the man make a noise of concern. Ignoring him, the Doctor started to play around with the wires until one of them snapped in his fingers, which made him grin.

“That's it! Might shift the fumes a bit, give us a good look,” the Doctor cheered. Hurrying to the panel he peered down with Martha joining him and the man standing awkwardly over them. Together, the three stared down into the smog as it started to clear out enough so that they were able to see massive claws, like claws on a crab, appear.

“They're alive,” the Doctor breathed as he saw the claws snap up at the air.

Martha made a gasping noise as the smog cleared even more, which allowed them to all see the very large crabs with bright glowing eyes, those were the lights the Doctor had seen, that the massive claws belonged to. “What are they?” Martha asked the Time Lord.

“Macra,” the Doctor answered with a shake of her head. Closing his eyes, he briefly sent all his knowledge of the Marcra, the creatures Kayla was with, to his Bonded.

* * *

Down in the now deathly Fastlane, Kayla closed her eyes as she listened to the information the Doctor had sent her. During this time, she felt as if wax had been pressed in her ears and the once frantic yells from Cheen and Milo were muffled to the point where she could barely make them out. Thankful for this, she let herself float for a few moments until the Doctor hissed through her mind, _‘Kayla! You need to turn the car off now, before it’s too late!’_

Shaking her head and opening her eyes, she snapped to Cheen and Milo, “Turn the car off now! They can hear the car, feel it, and the only way to stop that is if we turn the car off!”

Milo stared at her. “Are you serious?” He gasped.

Kayla gave him a glare. “If you don’t turn it off now, I’ll make you.”

Shivering at the threat, Milo turned the car off. Instantly, everything stopped around them and Kayla let out a breath she was holding in as the Marcra stopped trying to grab them.

“What now?” Cheen wondered.

Kayla gave a shrug. “How long does our air last?” She replied back.

Milo shuddered at the thought and then at his answer. “Eight minutes, maximum.”

This made Cheen start to cry softly to herself. Kayla, closing her eyes, sent the message to the Doctor as she placed a hand on her stomach.

* * *

Getting the message, the Doctor nearly decided to jump out of the car to hope that he could get to Kayla, but only a sharp _‘no,’_ from the brunette, who had seen the thought, made the Doctor stay in the car. However, because he needed to do something, anything really, he started to pace the car while talking about the Marcra to himself.

“The Macra used to be the scourge of this galaxy. Gas. They fed off gas, the filthier the better. They built up a small empire using humans as slaves and mining gas for food,” he rambled.

“They don’t look like empire builders anymore, do they?” Martha pointed out.

The Doctor rolled his eyes but answered all the same, “Well, that was billions of years ago. Billions. They must've devolved down the years and now they're just beasts. But they're still hungry and my Bonded, my wife, is down there.”

Martha stepped forwards to place a comforting hand on the Doctor’s shoulder when the three occupants paused at the noise of someone messing with the panel on the roof. Together, the three looked up while the man groaned, “Oh, it's like New Times Square in here, for goodness's sake!”

That statement did not stop the legs that dangled down and then the older cat-woman to land gracefully on the floor in front of the Doctor and Martha with a blaster of sorts strapped to her back.

“You’ve invented a sport,” Martha informed the Doctor with a slight smile, which made the Doctor gave a small grin in return.

The older cat-woman, who’s age was clearly shown by her gray whiskers and muzzle, gave the Doctor a hard look. “Doctor, you're a hard man to find,” she informed him.

The man, suddenly noticing the gun, pointed to it and shook his head. “No guns! I'm not having guns!” he protested loudly.

The cat-woman sent a glare to the man for this, which made him back up with a slight whimper. “I only brought this in case of pirates,” she informed him in a hard voice. Turning her head away, she looked over at the Doctor. “Doctor, you've got to come with me.”

The Doctor blinked and tilted his head as he run through her oddly familiar voice. “Do I know you?” he finally asked with a shake of his head as her voice came up blank.

The cat-woman looked down almost shyly and shook her head. “You haven't aged at all. Time has been less kind to me,” she remarked in a softer voice.

His eyes widening, the Doctor hugged the cat-woman with a cheer of, “Novice Hame!”

Novice Hame had been one of the nurses/nuns at the New New York hospital he had ended up going to with Rose. He had gotten a message on his psychic paper from a mysterious person that turned out to be the Face of Boe. Novice Hame had been the Face of Boe’s nurse. She had set next to him, basically, as the old face was dying. She had cleaned his jar and had listened to his ancient songs. She had also been in the nun order that was breading humans to find cures…

“No, hold on, get off. Last time we met, you were breeding humans for experimentation,” the Doctor pointed out as he stepped back from the older cat-woman.

Looking down at this reminder, Novice Hame shook her head. “I've sought forgiveness, Doctor, for so many years, under his guidance. And if you come with me, I might finally be able to redeem myself.”

The Doctor shook his head quickly. “No, never. Not unitl Kayla is with me. She’s down there, Novice Hame. Kayla…she’s my Bonded, my wife practically. I need to get down there.”

“I'm sorry, Doctor. But the situation is even worse than you can imagine,” she informed him. Grabbing his wrist, which made the Doctor grab Martha’s wrist, Hame hit a green-lit button on a wrist band she was wearing. “Transport,” she stated in a cool and practical voice.

At this, Martha made a noise of horror and the Doctor shouted, “Don't you dare! Don't you dare!” But this did nothing and the Doctor and Martha were transported to an unknown location.

This location was dank, musty, and generally covered in junk. Random sunlight streams came through broken windows, which allowed the Doctor, Martha, and Hame to clearly see the dust they were coated in from the floor.

“Oh! Rough teleport,” the Doctor groaned as he picked himself up from the floor and helped Martha up along with Novice Hame. While doing this, he grabbed the wristband off of Hame’s wrist, which made the cat-woman gasp and then glare. Ignoring her, the Doctor slammed down on the green-lit button…but nothing happened.

“Novice Hame, why is your teleport not working?” He asked through gritted teeth.

Hame shook her head. “I only had power for one trip,” she answered with a sigh.

The Doctor nodded. “We need to get some more,” he stated and then looked around. “Where are we?”

“High above, in the over-city,” Hame answered with a sad, sad smile.

Not noticing the smile, the Doctor gave a grim nod at this information. “Good! 'Cause you can tell the Senate of New New York I'd like a word. They've got thousands of people trapped on the motorway! Millions!”

Novice Hame just shook her head in response. “But you're inside the Senate, right now. May the goddess Santori bless them,” she sighed.

Looking up, Martha made gasped in horror, which prompted the Doctor to look up. There, high above them, were pews. And those pews were filled with skeletons. A full senate filled with skeletons, as if they had all just died.

“They died, Doctor. The city died,” Novice Hame informed the Doctor.

The Doctor shook his head, unable to comprehend how this could have happened. “How long's it been like this?” he breathed.

“Twenty-four years,” Hame answered in a soft voice. Heading off, she walked over to a skeleton that had somehow made it down on the ground. Martha instantly knelt down next to it and picked up a small stamp, much like the ones the venders were selling. This stamp, this drug, however seemed to be called ‘Bliss.’

“A new chemical. A new mood. They called it Bliss,” Hame recited. “Everyone tried it. They couldn't stop. A virus mutated inside the compound and became airborne. Everything perished — even the virus, in the end. It killed the world in seven minutes flat. There was just enough time to close down the walkways and the flyovers, sealing off the under-city. Those people on the motorway aren't lost, Doctor. They were saved.”

Horrified, Martha got to her feet and stepped away from the skeleton. Sending the Doctor a look, the Time Lord gave her a small squeeze on the shoulder. “So the whole thing down there is running automatically?” he asked.

“There's not enough power to get them out. We did all we could to stop the system from choking,” Hame explained with a nod.

Martha frowned, picking up on the use of plural pronouns. “’We?’” she questioned.

At this, Hame brightened considerably. She gave a nod and a small smile to the Doctor, who blinked at this shift in mood. “He protected me. And he has waited for you, these long years.”

And then, in the distance, a familiar rumbling voice called out, “Doctor.”

Recognizing it instantly, the Doctor grabbed Martha by the hand and pulled her with him quickly over to the glass tank that held the Face of Boe. Behind them, Novice Hame quickly followed but stayed back to fiddle with some machines that were hooked to the tank itself.

“The Face of Boe!” He greeted.

The Doctor had a large amount of respect for the Face of Boe. He, for all his life the Doctor had assumed it was a he, was the last of his kind and was well known for not only creating the Boe race, but watching it die out as well. The man was like an ancient grandfather, and from what the Doctor knew, several different planets worshiped the Face of Boe as if he was a God.

Suddenly sensing Martha’s discomfort next to him, the Doctor gave the black woman a reassuring grin. “Martha, meet the Face of Boe. The oldest creature in the universe and just an amazing…face.”

Boe gave a low chuckle at the Doctor’s finish and then gave Martha a long look. “I knew you would come,” he said as he turned his eyes back to the Doctor. “But you seem worried and tense. What is wrong?”

The Doctor looked down. “Kayla, my Bonded. She’s down there, in the Fastlane,” he explained in a soft voice.

The Face of Boe made an unsettled noise at this and seemed to ponder for a moment before looking over at Novice Hame and giving a very, very slight nod.

Hame, her eyes widening, turned to explain to the Doctor and Martha. “The Face of Boe wired himself into the mainframe. He's giving his life force just to keep things running,” she started.

Martha frowned. “Aren’t there other planets? Couldn’t you have called for help?”

“The last act of the Senate was to declare New Earth unsafe. The automatic quarantine lasts for one hundred years,” Hame explained with a shake of her head.

Seeing how dire the situation was and how close the Face of Boe was to failing, the Doctor straightened and went over to the panel that seemed to be the mainframe.

“Save them, Doctor. Save them and your Bonded.”

* * *

Down far, far below, the spirits of Cheen, Milo, and even Kayla, were becoming more and more hopeless as time passed. According to Milo, they had about two minutes of air left, and then they would either die, which would really kill four including the babies Cheen and Kayla were carrying, or turn the car back on and hope to God the Macrea didn’t get them.

“The Doctor will come, he always will,” Kayla breathed in a soft voice. Though, while she did believe the Doctor would come, she was starting to think he might be too late. She wasn’t able to contact him, it seemed that he had been separated by a barrier. He couldn’t hear her pleas for him to please, please hurry. And now, as Kayla placed a hand on her stomach, the pregnant woman knew that the longer he was gone, the longer it took.

Milo gave Kayla a long look and then shook his head. “Kayla…I don’t think he’s coming,” he said in a soft voice.

Inhaling sharply, Kayla looked off in the distance at that. “One minute,” she whispered in reply.

Cheen gave Milo a horrified look and nearly started to cry once more. Kayla looked over and them and then shook her head. “You've got your faith, you've got your songs and your hymns. And I've got the Doctor,” she stated, her voice growing firmer with each word.

Feeding off this strength, Milo nodded, said “Right,” and turned the car on. Briefly, Milo and Cheen gripped each other’s hand.

“Good luck,” Kayla breathed to the two of them.

Milo just settled more firmly in his seat. “And to you.”

Driving forwards, the brutal attacking on the car started once more as the Macrea started to attack them with their claws once more.

* * *

The Doctor let out a held breath as he saw the car that Kayla was in appear on the register and move. “Car Four Six Five Diamond Six — it still registers!” He cheered, which made Martha grin widely. “There’s my lovely Kayla.” Grabbing a piece of wiring, he held it to Hame who took it gingerly. “Novice Hame, hold that in place,” he instructed.

Turning away, the Doctor grabbed a piece of tubing and handed it to Martha, who stared at it but held it anyways. Once she was gripping it, the Time Lord started to run down the length of the tube. Every box in his way, he quickly jumped over.

“Think, think, think. Take the residual energy, invert it, feed it through the electricity beds,” he rambled to himself in a loud and carrying voice.

Hearing him, Novice Hame shook her head. “There isn't enough power.”

Having finally reached his destination, which was a far wall with two screens, lots of wiring, and even more buttons, the Doctor sent a bright grin back to Hame and Martha. “Ah, you've got power! You've got me! I'm brilliant with computers, just you watch,” he cheered. Then, pointing to the cat-woman, he commanded, “Hame, every switch on that bank, up to maximum!”

Hurrying off, the Doctor ran to a knob on the console floor and started to rotate it with the aid of his sonic screwdriver as well. “I can't power up the city, but all the city needs is people, he explained, and then banged his fist against the console which made it lit up.

“So what are you going to do?” Martha asked, a grin on her face as she watched the man in action.

“This!” the Doctor cheered as he flipped a switch...and then all the lights on the console went out. “No, no no no no, no!”

Running back to his spot on the floor, the Doctor knelt by it and started to wave his sonic screwdriver over it, scanning it to try and figure out what was blocking it. “The transformers are blocked. The signal can't get through,” he growled in a frustrated voice.

“Doctor…” the Face of Boe suddenly called out.

“Yeah, hold on, not now,” the Doctor replied back as he continued to work with the knob.

Ignoring him, the Face of Boe continued to speak, “I give you my last…” Inhaling for a long moment, the Face of Boe let out a raspy, long breath that ended up powering the console and making all the lights light up much more powerfully than they did before.

Realizing that he had given his own power to the machine, he looked over at Hame and said, “Hame, look after him! Don't you go dying on me, you big old face. You've got to see this,” he finished with a worried look to the Face of Boe, who’s eyes were closed.

Going back over to the switch, he flipped it on with a loud, “The open road. Hah!”

* * *

In the fast lane, Kayla’s car had been grabbed at and then knocked off by another claw, but their journey was far from over and the knocking on the car just kept increasing. Suddenly, a slight light seemed to be casted on the fog, which made the brunette frown. And then, like when they were singing before, the screen turned on and…

“Doctor!” Kayla cheered as she saw her Bonded appear on the screen.

_“Sorry, no Sally Calypso, she was just a hologram. My name's the Doctor,”_ the Time Lord explained in that voice Kayla thought she would never hear again. _“And this is an order. Everyone drive up. Right now._ _I've opened the roof of the motorway. Come on. Throttle those engines. Drive up. All of you, the whole under-city. Drive up, drive up, drive up! Fast!_ _Oy! Car Four Six Five Diamond Six! Kayla! Drive up!”_

The three looked at the screen and then Milo shook his head. “We can't go up! We'll hit the layer!” He protested as if the Doctor could hear him.

Kayla, so wanting to get out of this, practically dragged Milo from his seat, which made the man use a few choice words and Cheen to say, “I don’t think that was necessary.” Ignoring them both, she turned the controls up and then grinned as she saw that they could drive up and that there wasn’t a layer of cars blocking them. And as they rose further, the sun hit their face as the emerged into daylight and sky and…a real world.

“It's daylight! Oh my God. That's the sky, the real sky!” Cheen cried out, tears of joy spilling out of her face.

Milo, kneeling next to her, grabbed Cheen’s face and kissed her as Kayla drove the car, the Doctor’s voice in her head telling her that he had sent her a flight path and to hurry quickly, because he had a surprise for her.

* * *

Having gotten out of the car with a tearful farewell hug from Cheen and a slight smile from Milo, Kayla hurried into the Senate of New New York. The Doctor had warned her about the skeletons, she ignored them as she came in and called out, “Doctor?”

“Over here,” the Doctor called back.

Sensing that something was wrong, both in his voice and in the mental connection, Kayla hurried over only to stumble back a bit at the sight of the Face of Boe, his glass tank broken around him, on the floor with an older cat-woman, Martha, and the Doctor. The Face of Boe himself seemed to be dying and in clear pain.

Kneeling down next to the Doctor, she leaned into him as she looked at Boe. “He’s dying,” she whispered.

The Doctor gave her a sad look but didn’t argue with her. After nearly losing her, he would never argue with her again. “He's the one that saved you, not me,” he explained.

The cat-woman gave a small sniffle. “My lord gave his life to save the city,” she put in. “And now he's dying.”

“It's good to breathe the air once more,” the Face of Boe said in a weak voice.

Kayla gave a small shake of her head and laid her head on the Doctor’s shoulder. “Legends say you’ve lived for over billions of years. Why now?”

“Everything has its time. You know that, my dear Kayla and my old friend, both of you better than most,” the Face of Boe answered.

“The legend says more,” the cat-woman said in a soft voice.

Kayla frowned as she felt the Doctor tense under her. Feeling his rage at the cat-woman, who seemed to be named Novice Hame, in his head, Kayla took one hand and squeezed it, reminding him to calm down. In response, the Doctor squeezed back and stayed silent as Hame continued.

“It says that the Face of Boe will speak his final secret to a traveler’s…child,” At this new information, Kayla and the Doctor both exchanged wide-eyed stares. They had heard quite a few legends about the Face of Boe, and they all said he would tell his final secret to a traveler. Even the last time they had seen him, when it seemed that Boe was going to die, Hame had said the secret would be told to a traveler.

But it seemed everyone else had gotten it wrong, which left Boe with the last laugh in the legend. As he gave a literal chuckle, he looked up at Kayla and the Doctor. “I have seen so much. Perhaps too much. I am the last of my kind – but you are not the last of your kind, Doctor. Not anymore.” Boe paused as he seemed to choose his words carefully. “Your child will bring you great joy, Doctor and Kayla, and great pain. It was never your fault. Never. And you…Time Agent and Time Lady, you are not alone.”

Their eyes wide, Kayla and the Doctor stared at Boe as he passed away in front of him. Novice Hame started to cry, which made Martha go over to her and gingerly wrap an arm around her shoulders as she cried over the body of the Face of Boe.

Turning away from the body, Kayla kissed the Doctor softly on the lips as she shed a few tears herself. In response, the Doctor just held her closer.

* * *

Quite a few hours later, the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla returned back to the alleyway where the brunette had been abducted. The venders who had once been there were gone, their cars abandoned. Everyone had found out that the lanes were open again, that they were going to be able to go to New New York in, at most, a few hours. There was another traffic jam building up, but this one would disperse like they all did.

Hand – in – hand with Kayla, the Doctor grinned at the empty cars and then at the Time Lady, who seemed much more happy than she had been for a while. It always felt nice to be have saved someplace, and the joy was affecting the brunette in a very good way.

“All closed down,” Martha remarked from behind the two. The woman had been rather quite since the Face of Boe had said his last words to Kayla and the Doctor. She seemed to be thinking hard about something, and whatever it was, it was now making her frown slightly. “Happy?” She asked despite her mood.

“Happy happy,” the Doctor replied with a smile to Kayla as he quoted the venders, which just made the brunette roll her eyes and give him a small nudge. “New New York can start again. And they've got Novice Hame. Just what every city needs — cats in charge! Come on, time we were off.”

Starting to stroll off with Kayla, the brunette stopped him through the mental link as she noted that Martha wasn’t following them. Exchanging looks of bewilderment, the two turned around and faced the black woman, her arms were crossed and she did _not_ look pleased.

“What do you mean earlier, that you had been lying to me?” she asked in a flat voice.

Kayla instantly looked over at the Doctor, who gave a slight shrug as he relayed that it had just slipped out. Shaking her head at him, Kayla crossed her arms, matching Martha’s stance, and, with a warning of what she was about to say to the Doctor, admitted, “We did lie to you…but only because it made him feel better for a short while.”

Wrapping an arm around Kayla’s waist, the Doctor continued, “I could pretend. Just for a bit, I could imagine they were still alive, underneath a burnt orange sky,” he explained in a soft voice.

Martha took a step back, her eyes widening as she realized what the Doctor was saying. His people…the people of his old home, were _dead._

“I'm not just a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords,” the Doctor continued with a shake of his head. “And Kayla…Kayla was human but when we made a mental link and when we Bonded, she became a Time Lady. And then…when we have our child, we’ll not be alone.”

Kayla gave a small nod and then kissed the Doctor’s cheek before she turned to Martha. “I don’t know what the Face of Boe was talking about because I know I’m not alone. But, Martha, know this, we’re sorry.”

Martha nodded, but then paused. “How?”

The Doctor shifted yet answered all the same, “There was a war. A Time War. The last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. They lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family, my friends, even that sky. Oh, you should have seen it, that old planet. The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, and when they caught the light every morning, it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, the breeze would blow through the branches like a song…”

And, as the Doctor continued to talk about his old home, the people of New New York started to sing in the distance,

_“Fast falls the eventide_

_The darkness deepens_

_Lord, with me abide_

_When other helpers fail_

_The darkness deepens_

_Lord, with me abide.”_


	12. Daleks in Manhattan Pt. 1

Kayla was sitting on the console room couch. It had been a full day since the trip to New New York and now she was trying to convince the Doctor that going to the actual New York would be much, much more fun.

“You talk like you’ve been there,” the Doctor pointed out. He was piloting the TARDIS in the time vortex and was doing rather well compared to his usual bumpiness.

She shrugged. “Better than Germany,” she replied back with a small smile on her face as she recalled the multiple trips to Germany she, Jack, and John had made while in the Time Agency. Said smile dimmed a bit as she also recalled why Jack wasn’t there. He had died, and Kayla had never been able to say goodbye to her own father.

Seeing her face fall, the Doctor frowned and lost concentration on his piloting, which made the TARDIS jolt and Kayla to grab onto her seat. He hadn’t really been paying attention to what Kayla was saying, mostly because he had planned to go to New York the minute she brought it up. He just really liked hearing her talk, which was why he let her continue. Seeing that she was sad now made the Time Lord grin twice his usual strength, clap his hands, and go, “Well it’s New York City then!”

“New York City? As in the actual one?” At Martha’s voice, Kayla looked over to see the woman toweling off her hair. She was dressed in the outfit of jeans, shirt, and a leather jacket she seemed to have taken a liking to. Kayla really liked it as well and thought about copying it herself, but jeans were just so uncomfortable these days, what with her stomach and all, that she enjoyed wearing simpler things like dresses and skirts.

Looking down at the pale blue dress she was wearing, Kayla shifted a slight bit and briefly wondered if she should change to match Kayla, but a jolt and a, “Yep! And come on!” from the Doctor made her sigh and get up from the couch. It seemed that her fashion worrying was going to have to wait until after their trip.

Taking the Doctor’s offer hand, Kayla smiled at him and then at Martha. “After you,” she said in a polite voice to Martha, who laughed and pushed open the door. The breeze that filtered through the TARDIS was light and filled with salt from the sea, which prompted Martha to hurry out.

“Oh my God!” she gasped. “Doctor, Kayla, come and see this!”

Giving a light chuckle, the Doctor stepped out with Kayla and looked over at Martha. The black woman’s eyes were wide to almost comical proportion as she stared at the Statue of Liberty. The sight of it proved exactly where they were. New York.

“You did it! Doctor you did it!” she cheered as she jumped up and down.

The Doctor just grinned at her excitement and wrapped an arm around Kayla’s waist. Leaning over, he picked up a newspaper with the date on it and flatted it out, as it had been wrinkled from the salt from the sea. On the newspaper, they could read the year, which was much earlier than the two had thought it would be.

“I might have landed a bit sooner than I attended to,” the Doctor breathed with a small apologetic smile.

Kayla laughed and laid her head on the Doctor’s shoulder. “I assume you know the inscription?” she said.

Grinning, the Doctor kissed the top of brunette’s head. “’Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to break free…,’” he quoted.

Hearing him, Martha turned over to them with wide, excited eyes. “This is so brilliant!” she cheered. “I’ve always wanted to go to New York.  I mean the real New York, not the new, new, new, new, new…”

As Martha muttered the rest of the news under her breath while ticking them off on her fingers also, the three went over to the shoreline that overlooked New York. The Doctor held out his hand to show it off to the awed Martha. “Well, there’s the genuine article.  So good, they named it twice.  Mind you, it was New Amsterdam originally.  Harder to say twice.  Now wonder it didn’t catch on.  New Amsterdam, New Amsterdam.”

With several blinks, Martha looked over at Kayla, who shrugged and nodded over to the unfinished Empire State Building.

“What year is this?” Martha asked, frowning as she studied the building. In answer, Kayla just handed her the newspaper.

Only now paying attention, the Doctor looked up at the building and crossed his arms, thinking, “Work in progress.  Still got a couple floors to go, and if I know my history, that makes the date somewhere around—“

“November 1, 1930,” Martha finished, reading off the newspaper. Raising an eyebrow, the Doctor looked over at Martha to see her reading the newspaper. Almost pouting, he took the newspaper from her and read it while the black woman spoke, “Eighty years ago. It’s funny ‘cause you see all those old newsreels in black and white like it’s so far away, but here we are.  It’s real.  It’s now.” Giving a laugh, Martha looked over at the couple to see them not paying attention at all. Kayla was looking over the Doctor’s shoulder and reading the newspaper with a frown that matched the one on the Doctor’s face.

However, as Martha was becoming used to speaking about something and turning to talk directly to the Doctor and Kayla only to find them occupied with something else, the black woman just sighed and spoke in a louder voice, “Come on you two. Where do we go first?”

The Doctor held up the newspaper, his finger pointing to a headline down on the front page. “I think our detour just got longer,” he remarked.

“’Hooverville Mystery Deepens.’ What’s Hooverville?” Martha wondered with a frown. She hadn’t looked into American history, as she had no reason to while living in England and studying for being a doctor, but she was pretty certain that if there had been a place ‘Hooverville’ she would remember the name. But she didn’t, which made the experience of coming across a camp filled with a group of rattily dressed people, all obviously poor and in need, even more shocking then it would have been had she known what she was coming upon.

“Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the USA, came to power a year ago.  Up till then New York was a boom town, the Roaring Twenties, and then…” the Doctor was explaining to Martha, his voice low as to not stick out. After all, this was common knowledge in New York at that time. If someone found out that Martha didn’t know what was going on then things could become…dicey.

“The Wall Street Crash, yeah?  When was that, 1929?” Martha put in, barely remembering hearing something about the crash.

The Doctor nodded somberly. “Yeah.  Whole economy wiped out overnight.  Thousands of people unemployed.  Suddenly the huddled masses doubled in number with nowhere to go.  So they ended up here in Central Park,” he explained. “Ordinary people.  Lost their jobs.  Couldn’t pay the rent and they lost everything.  There are places like this all over America.  You only come to Hooverville when there’s nowhere else to go.”

And that was exactly what Hooverville looked like. It was a bunch of tents that had a few belongings in it. The owner of said tents stepped out a bit, their clothes aged from their heavy use. All the people had the same common look of deep mistrust, and their eyes all followed the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla as they walked through the camp in the middle of Central Park. The once sunny place covered with trees and had people milling about now only held the ones who had nothing. The more fortune people all stayed safely in their homes, not wanting to mill about with the ones who lived in Hooverville so that they didn’t risk their luck turning. Of course when their luck did turn, as it always seemed to, the people of Hooverville welcomed the new comer.

Unless, of course, the new comer stole from another person. Then they were very unwelcomed. But when someone stole it always led to a fight, which was free entertainment. So when a male’s deep voice called out, “That’s enough!” A group of people went towards the voice.

Kayla, looking over at the Doctor, gave a slight shrug as if to say, ‘why not.’ _‘We should go see,’_ she mentally put in.

The Doctor grinned and nodded. Grabbing her hand, they followed the crowd with Martha tagging after them. The three all joined the group that was watching a black man, clearly in charge and clearly the person who had called out earlier, address one of the two men who seemed to have been fighting, “Now think real careful before you lie to me.”

The man gave the black man a pitiful look. “I’m starvin’, Solomon,” he protested.

The black man, Solomon, just held out his hand. Looking upset, the man gave him a piece of bread, which made the crowd titter and the other of the two men to give the man a scathing look.

“We’re all starving’,” Solomon said in an even voice as he ignored the looks and mutters the thief was receiving, “We all got families somewhere.” Breaking the bread apart evenly, he gave one piece to both men, who took it with a look of shame on their faces. “No stealin’ and no fightin’.  You know the rules.  Thirteen years ago I fought in the Great War.  A lot of us did.  And the only reason we got through was because we stuck together!  No matter how bad things get, we still act like human beings.  It’s all we got.”

At the end of Solomon’s speech, the crowd dispersed, all talking among each other, and the two men went their separate ways with their half of the bread. Except for the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla. Instead, the Doctor leaned over to Martha and hissed, “Come on.” Together, the trio went over to Solomon.

“I suppose that makes you the boss around here,” the Doctor remarked to the black man.

Solomon crossed his arms and eyed the group of people, taking in their clothes. “And, uh, who might you be?” he asked gruffly. It seemed that he had looked at their clothes and decided that they were either new comers or someone from the outside.

Not liking the way Solomon was looking at Kayla, he was judging her, the Doctor wrapped an arm around Kayla and held her closer. He hated it when people gave her a look that was angry. So the Doctor seemed to give Solomon a harder look in return, which made the black man shift and look over at Kayla and Martha in a questioning look. While Kayla just ignored it and focused on trying to calm the Doctor down by pointing out that Solomon was not upsetting her in anyway, Martha just shook her head.

“He’s the Doctor. She’s Kayla. I’m Martha,” she introduced with a wave of her hand at each person until she pointed to herself.

Solomon shifted and eyed the Doctor and then gave Martha a look that was a mixture of shock and disbelief. To him, it seemed that the man could _not_ be a doctor. Doctors did not get touched by the crash, there was always a need for them. Plus, the Doctor just had a goofy look about him.

So he scoffed, “A doctor,” and shook his head. “Well, we got, uh, stockbrokers, we got a lawyer, but you’re the first doctor,” he grinned ever so slightly, but it was a grim smile. “Neighborhood gets classier by the day.” Sighing, he turned over to a fire and warmed his hands over it.

“How many people live here?” Martha breathed as she looked around.

Solomon shrugged. “At any one time, hundreds.  No place else to go.  But I will say this about Hooverville.  We are a truly equal society, black, white, all the same.  All starving,” he laughed bitterly at the end and shook his head, “So you’re welcome. All three of you.”

Turning away from the fire fully, Solomon looked over at the Doctor. “But tell me, Doctor, you’re a man of learning, right?  Explain this to me.” He gestured towards the Empire State Building, its top floors unfinished but it was already a very tall building. “That there’s going to be the tallest building in the world.  How come they can do that, and we got people starving in the heart of Manhattan?”

The Doctor blinked and then shook his head. He had no way to respond to that question, so he didn’t. Instead, he pulled Kayla closer and gave her a small kiss on her head. Martha gave them a small smile and then looked over at Solomon, who had turned away and was throwing coffee dregs onto the fire he was warming his hands over earlier.

“So…men are going missing.  Is this true?” the Doctor asked, holding up the newspaper he had grabbed earlier, the headline still on it.

Solomon gave the newspaper a glare and shook his head. “It’s true alright,” he answered gruffly. Turning around, he walked into his tent.

Following him with Kayla and Martha, the Doctor went to the inside of the tent and stood. “But what does missing mean?  Men must come and go here all the time.  It’s not like anyone’s keeping a register,” the Doctor pointed out.

Not answering just yet, Solomon sat down and then waved his hand. “C’mon in,” he invited. Exchanging looks, the trio walked into the tent. The Doctor instantly pulled out a seat for Kayla, which the brunette sat in. Martha sat down in a seat nearby and the Doctor, of course, sat down next to Kayla. The three looked over at Solomon with expecting looks on their faces as they waited for Solomon to answer. Seeing this, the black man sighed. “This is different,” he started.

Kayla frowned. “How so,” she asked.

“Someone takes them.  At night.  We hear something.  Someone calls out for help.  By the time we get there, they’re gone.  Like they vanish into thin air,” the black man explained.

“That doesn’t mean someone is taking them,” Kayla pointed out. Similar things had happened at the Time Agency, but usually that meant someone was trying to escape. Maybe Solomon wasn’t as nice as he was acting.

Solomon just shook his head. “When you got next to nothing, you hold on to the little you got.  Your knife, blanket, you take it with you.  You don’t leave bread uneaten, fire still burning,” he informed them.

Martha frowned, her brow furrowing. “Have you been to the police?”

“Yeah, we tried that.  Another deadbeat goes missing, big deal,” Solomon explained with a shrug.

“So, the question is, who’s taking them and what for?” the Doctor pointed out.

The black man nodded. Leaning back in his chair, he appeared to be thinking when a young man who had to barely be older than eighteen poked his head into the tent. “Solomon, Mr. Diagoras is here,” the boy said.

Sighing deeply, Solomon got up and walked outside. The Doctor, Kayla, and Martha quickly followed him. The four of them saw a man in a nice suit and slicked back hair speaking to the group of men. “I need men.  Volunteers.  I got a little work for you and you sure look like you can use the money,” the man said rather rudely.

The boy who had poked his head into Solomon’s tent called out, “Yeah.  What is the money?” he asked.

“A dollar a day,” Diagoras answered with a smirk.

At the price, the group of men grumbled. The money wasn’t great, everyone knew that, but it was still money and they needed it. Solomon seemed to be one of the only ones that wasn’t being bought by the man. “What’s the work?” he asked in a gruff voice.

“A little trip down the sewers.  Got a tunnel that collapsed needs clearing and fixing.  Any takers?” Diagoras explained.

Solomon shook his head. “A dollar a day?  That’s slave wage.  Men don’t always come back up, do they?” he pointed out.

Diagroas just shrugged. “Accidents happen,” he replied.

The Doctor suddenly took a step forwards, frowning. “What do you mean?  What sort of accidents?”

The suited man rolled his eyes. “You don’t need the work?  That’s fine.  Anybody else?” the Doctor looked over to Kayla.

_‘It’ll be dangerous,’_ he warned. _‘Something is done there taking men. You could get hurt. The baby could get hurt.’_

In answer to the Doctor’s worries, Kayla raised her hand in the air. “I would like to volunteer,” she called out to the man.

Diagroas blinked and seemed to want to laugh but thought better of it. Instead, he shrugged and asked, “Anyone else?”

As there was no way the Doctor was going to let her go alone, he nudged Martha while he raised his hand. The black woman looked in between the two and then put her hand in the air as well. “I’ll kill you for this,” she muttered.

Behind them there was enough shuffling that made Kayla turn around to see Solomon and the kid raise their hands. It seemed it would not just be the Doctor, Martha, and herself.

* * *

The group of the Doctor, Kayla, Martha, Solomon, and Frank, who was the boy who had told Solomon that Diagroas was at Hooverville, all walked into the sewers after the suited man.

“Turn left.  Go about half a mile.  Follow Tunnel 273.  Fall’s right ahead of you.  You can’t miss it,” Diagroas ordered, gesturing in what seemed to be the general direction of left and Tunnel 273.

Frank seemed to be the only one was in a slightly good mood, which wasn’t saying much considering how dark Kayla felt and acted, and of course the Doctor was acting the same way, and considering how Martha seemed to just be generally unenthusiastic, and also considering the seemingly permeant scowl on Solomon’s face, the fact that Frank was barely smiling really said something about how completely unhappy with the situation everyone was. But to show just how excited he was, Frank asked Diagroas, “And when do we get our dollar?”

Diagroas rolled his eyes. “When you come back up,” he said as if it was obvious.

Kayla frowned and crossed her arms. “And if we don’t come back up?” she asked darkly.

“Then I got no one to pay,” the suited man said in the same voice as before. Kayla’s frown got deeper at this and she looked over at the Doctor and Martha with evident worry in her eyes. Seeing this, the Doctor took her hand in his and rubbed the back of it with his thumb, trying to calm her down.

“We’ll be back,” he promised her in a soft voice and then repeated it in a louder voice.

Solomon nodded and gave the Doctor a grateful smile. “Exactly, we’ll be back,” he agreed.

Martha seemed to want to say something against that, but a very sharp look from the Doctor made her bite her tongue and just make a sort of noise that sounded like a groan, which made the Doctor roll his eyes.

“Let’s just hope we get back,” Kayla muttered. Before she had gotten down into the sewers, she was fine with the idea. The Doctor would be there with her and would keep her safe, as he always did. But now that she was actually in the sewers, she was rethinking her choice. The hand the Doctor wasn’t holding went to her stomach and she looked over at the Time Lord. It was starting to hit her that if she got hurt, the baby would be at risk. For the first time ever, really, she had someone else that relayed on her. And that scared her. And the more scared she got, the more her mood darkened.

So as they continued down the tunnel, Martha and Frank talking, Solomon behind them, and Kayla and the Doctor hand-in-hand in the back, the brunette’s mood continued to darken as the cycle of being scared took over.

“You alright?” the Doctor asked in a low voice, startling Kayla from her thought and jumping slightly.

Looking over at him, she gave him a small smile, “Yeah,” she answered.

Not fooled at all by this, the Doctor frowned and eyed her for a long time. “I’m here,” he said.

She blinked and then looked down, her eyes nearly filling with tears. That was exactly what she needed to hear, so of course the Doctor knew to say it. Pausing in her tracks, which made the Doctor stop and face her. Standing on tiptoe, she kissed the Doctor ever so gently on the mouth. “Thank you,” she breathed against his lips.

He grinned at her and took her hand. “Come on,” he said in a soft voice. Squeezing her hand, he walked after the group with Kayla, pleased that she seemed to be in a better mood. Looking forwards, he spotted a green glowing blob on the ground in the alleyway. “Whoa!” he shouted, stopping Kayla from walking forwards, least it gave off some sort of fume that would hurt Kayla. His shout also got the attention of Solomon, Frank, and Martha, who stopped in their tracks and looked behind at the Doctor.

“What?” Martha asked, looking over at the Time Lord. Waving his hand, the Doctor walked over to the blob and studied it. Going forwards, she leaned over the Doctor’s shoulder. “Is it radioactive or something?” she wondered, and then she gagged, the smell of the blob hitting her. “Ugh, Kayla, don’t come near it. It’s gone off, whatever it is.”

Kayla nodded and took a step backwards. From her safer position, she could see Frank and Solomon also staying back from the glob, and she could also see Martha bending over the Doctor’s shoulder, and she could see the Doctor _pick up_ the glob. _‘Did you seriously pick that up?’_ Kayla asked mentally at the same time Martha made another grossed out noise.

“And you’ve got to pick it up,” she complained.

Ignoring them, though Kayla could feel his amusement at her question, the Doctor sniffed the glob and then held it up to Martha, who took a hasty step back. “Shine your torch through it,” he requested. Martha did so, and the results made the Doctor hum. “Composite organic matter.  Martha?  Medical opinion?”

Martha frowned and looked over at Kayla, who just shrugged. Seeing that the brunette would be no help in this case, she eyed the glob for a few moments. “It’s not human.  I know that,” she remarked.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. “No, it’s not.  And I’ll tell you something else.  We must be at least half a mile in and I don’t see any sign of a collapse, do you?  So why did Mr. Diagoras send up down here?” At the end of his questions, he looked over at Kayla and made eye-contact with her. _‘I’ll keep you safe,’_ he promised.

Kayla gave him a grateful smile that did not waver even as Martha asked in a worried tone, “So where are we now?  What’s above us?”

The Doctor looked over at Martha. “Well…we’re right underneath Manhattan,” he pointed out. Putting down the glob, he wiped his hands on his suit and walked back over to Kayla. Solomon and Frank’s gazes followed him and when the Doctor looked over at them, he got questioning and worried looks.

“What do we do?” Frank asked, his voice shaking slightly with fear.

The Doctor wiped his hands again and then took Kayla’s hand. He gave her a small smile, which she returned, and then grinned widely at Frank. “We keep walking,” he stated. Then, to make sure they did so, he started to walk on with Kayla. Martha instantly followed and Solomon and Frank exchanged worried looks before following on as well.

They continued to walk like this until Solomon stopped and crossed his arms. “We’re way beyond half a mile.  There’s no collapse, nothing,” he pointed out.

Martha frowned and look at the Doctor and Kayla. “That Diagoras bloke, was he lying?”

Kayla gave a small nod. “That’s how it seems to be,” she answered.

Frank frowned and looked around, his eyes widening. “So why did he want people to come down here?” he wondered.

The Doctor’s jaw clenched some. He looked over at Kayla, who placed a hand on her stomach and then nodded. A mixture of unease and slight hurt crossed his face. Kayla, seeing this, squeezed his hand and gave him a soft grin. Sighing, the Doctor turned to Solomon. “Solomon,” he started, “I think it’s time you took Martha, Frank, and Kayla back up. They’ll be safer.”

Solomon seemed to want to protest, but before he could do so a very unhuman squeal echoed from further down the tunnel. Instantly, Kayla and the Doctor whirled around and exchanged worried looks. The Doctor moved Kayla to the side and blocked her from whatever was making the noise.

“What the hell was that?” Solomon asked.

Frank, not seeming to catch onto the fright the others were feeling called out, “Hello?!”

“Shh,” Martha instantly hissed as she sent a glare towards the boy.

Solomon also shot Frank a look. “Frank,” he reprimanded.

Frank crossed his arms with a frown. “What if it’s one of the folk gone missing?  You’d be scared, half-mad down here on your own.”

The Doctor’s brow furrowed and he looked over at the two. “You think they might still be alive?” he asked.

The boy shrugged. “Heck, we ain’t seen no bodies down here.  Maybe they just got lost.”

More squealing came from the same direction, which made the Doctor tense. Holding Kayla’s hand, he started to hesitantly walk forwards, his body still directly in front of hers in case something jumped out at them.

“Sounds like there’s more than one of ‘em,” Frank remarked.

Not replying, even though it did really sound like that to him as well, the Doctor paused as the reach a crossroads before pointing in one direction and saying, “This way to the others.”

He started to go down his picked out path until Solomon said from behind him, “No, that way.”

“Doctor,” Martha breathed, making the two turn and peer down the tunnel that Solomon was pointing his torch down. It appeared that the beam had hit a humanoid figure in the middle of the tunnel.

“Who are you?” Solomon called out the figure, but there was no response.

“Are you lost?  Can you understand me?  I’ve been thinkin’ about folk lost…” Frank’s voice trailed off as he made to make a step forwards but the Doctor held an arm out, blocking him.

“It’s all right, Frank.  Just stay back,” he ordered in a gentle voice. He glanced behind at Kayla, who nodded and squeezed his hand. “Let Kayla and I have a look,” he told the others. The Doctor and Kayla walked towards the figure.

“He’s got a point, Frank does,” Kayla said in a carrying voice to the figure, “These tunnels would be horrible to be in all this time, on my own.” The creature squealed loudly, making the Doctor tense and move in front of Kayla.

Looking back to make sure that Kayla was okay, the Doctor stood in front of the creature. “We know the way out.  Daylight.  If you want to come with us.” Squatting down in front of the creature, he let out a soft whistle as he shined his light on its face. “Oh, but what are you?” he wondered. For where the light should have hit a human head, it hit the head of a pig. The creature in front of the Doctor was a pig-man.

“Is, uh, that some kind of carnival mask?” Solomon asked from the beginning of the tunnel.

Kayla shook her head. “It’s real,” she informed the man, which made his eyes widen and take a step back.

The Doctor gave her a slight smile before his gaze turned back to the pig-man and his smile to slide off. “I’m sorry,” he breathed and shook his head. “Now listen to me.  I promise I can help. Now, who did this to you?”

_‘Doctor,’_ Kayla suddenly warned. She was starting to walk backwards very slowly, her eyes remaining firmly fixed on the other side of the tunnel. _‘Get up. Now.’_

The Doctor looked over at Kayla. Following her gaze, he looked over at the tunnel and his eyes widened. Standing up, he gave a short nod. “Actually…good point.”

What was scaring the entire group so much was the fact that there was a group of _more_ pig-men at the other end of the tunnel. And as the Doctor was backing up, they were walking towards him. This prompted Martha to say, “They’re following you,” as if the Doctor didn’t see that.

“Yeah, I noticed that, thanks,” the Doctor replied crisply. Continuing to back up, he only stopped once Kayla had grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly. One finger went up and rested on her wrist and he winced as he felt how quickly her hearts were beating. _‘It’s going to be okay,’_ he promised mentally. Aloud, he said, “Well then, Martha, Solomon, Frank, Kayla…”

“What?” Martha breathed.

The Doctor turned around, his hand clenching Kayla’s. “Um, basically…run!” With his shout echoing in the air, he started to run with Kayla going as quickly as she could after him, one of her hands going to her stomach. Behind them, Martha, Frank, and Solomon followed.

“Right!” Kayla yelled, more breathless than she usually was when they were fleeing, when they reached a cross-section in the tunnels.

“Got it!” Martha called back to inform Kayla that yes, someone had heard her.

Kayla gave a nod and focused all her energy on running. But thankfully, by the time she was _truly_ out of breath and was unable to run any further, they were at a ladder. She made to call back to the others to inform them, but the Doctor shook his head. Kissing her very briefly, he handed her his sonic screwdriver. “Go up, open the grate at the top, and then _hide._ I’ll take care of the rest.”

The brunette nodded and started to climb up the ladder. At the top, she opened the lid and pushed it aside. Climbing into the room above the sewers, she only had a brief time to look around the room she was in when someone hit her on the head. Somehow, she managed to make sure to fall on her back instead of her stomach, but as her eyes slide shut, her last thought was, _‘The Doctor is going to kill whoever did this.’_

* * *

In the sewers where Kayla had left the Doctor, the Time Lord himself was making sure everyone was getting up on the ladder. Realizing that there was one man short, he looked over at Frank, who was holding a pipe and trying to fend off the group of pig-men that were attacking him.

“Frank!” he called over. The boy instantly looked at the Doctor. A smile starting as he saw that everyone was safe, he started to go over when one of the pig-men grabbed him. Making to go over to him, the Doctor stumbled. He could feel it in his mind that Kayla was hurt, that she was losing consciousness. So instead of helping the boy, as he could have, as he really should have, he whispered a, “I’m sorry,” and then he scrambled up the ladder and then through the hole.

“Frank? Where is he?” Solomon asked, seeing the Doctor alone.

Martha, seeing the determined and frankly scary look on the Doctor’s face pulled Solomon out of the way. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, already knowing something had happened and Frank was gone.

The black man started to the grate, which made Martha pull him back. Looking over at where the Doctor had been, she huffed as she realized he had run off. Closing the grate firmly, she straightened and looked around what appeared to be a theater prop room they were in. “Doctor?” She called out.

A voice answered, but it wasn’t the Doctor’s or Kayla’s, “All right then.  Put ‘em up.” Martha froze and looked towards the voice to see a blonde haired woman holding a gun straight at them. Solomon got up from the floor and put his hands up before nudging Martha to do so as well. “Hands in the air and no funny business,” the woman ordered with a menacing cock of the gun. Martha put her hands in the air.

“Now tell me, you schmucks, what’ve you done with Lazlo?” the girl questioned.

“Who’s Lazlo?” Martha asked after a glance over at Solomon, who seemed just as confused as her.

Before the girl could explain, a shadow appeared behind the girl. The shadow hit the girl in the head from the back, sending her to the ground on her face. Martha jumped backwards and Solomon, being a gentleman, stepped in front of her.

The shadow stepped into the light, revealing itself to be the Doctor, which made the two sag in relief. “I found Kayla,” the Doctor said. “She’s in that one’s,” he nudged the girl with his foot, “dressing room. She’s knocked out.” Gritting his teeth, he shot a truly vicious look at the girl before giving Martha and Solomon a hard look. “Martha, tend to Kayla. Solomon, take the girl with her. Take the gun as well.”

“You’re not going to kill her, are you?” Martha asked, a frown going across her face.

The Doctor gave the knocked out girl another angry glare. “She hurt my Bonded.” He retorted, and then stormed out of the room.


	13. Daleks in Manhattan Pt. 2

Kayla jerked awake and made to sit up only to groan. Instantly, the Doctor was at her side. She felt horrible. Her mouth was dry, her head _hurt,_ and the couch she was laying on was not the best for her back, which was already hurting some from the baby. The baby! Her hands went to her stomach and she sighed with relief. All was well there.

The Doctor took one of Kayla’s hand and kissed the palm of it. “Everything is alright, I promise.” The Doctor breathed. “Martha checked you over. You and the baby are fine.”

Kayla turned her head and smiled slightly. She leaned forwards, which made the Doctor look at her. With a grin, he kissed her, as that was what she was asking for. She pulled back, a frown on her face as she remembered something. “Someone…someone hit me.”

The Doctor face took a different turn. Seeming to try and control himself, he gently reached behind her head and felt the bump that was forming there. At the slight wince that went across her face for a brief second, the Doctor’s jaw clenched and he instantly removed his hand. “We got her,” he told her as he retook her hand.

Kayla gave him a bigger smile. “I knew you would,” she said. With a soft groan, she sat up and looked around the room she was in. It seemed to be a dressing room of some sorts. There was a vanity with large and white light bulbs on the mirror. Surrounding the frame of the reflecting glass were pictures, all of either a blonde girl or of a cute, but simple, looking guy. On the desk of the vanity, there was a gold-framed picture of an older woman who was still smiling despite the grim that was covering her black and white photo.

“Is this her dressing room?” Kayla asked. For a dressing room it was rather large. There was also a dark portion that was covered by a sheet. “And is that where _she_ is?”

The Doctor moved from his kneeling position to sit down next to her on the couch. It creaked loudly and the cushion sagged, but he ignored that in favor to wrap his arm around her waist. “She will not touch you ever again,” he vowed.

Kayla laid her head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to worry Doctor. I can take care of myself.”

Not addressing this, he chose to instead kiss the top of her head. For a long moment, the two sat in silence. Kayla, with her head on the Doctor’s shoulder, and the Doctor with his head very gently resting on Kayla’s. But then, their sweet moment was ruined by Martha poking her head from around the sheet. The two looked up only to spot the black woman making a face. “Yes?” the Doctor asked with a tight grin.

Martha sighed and glanced over at Kayla for a brief moment. Seeming to asses that she appeared alright, she looked back over at the Doctor. “The girl’s ready.”

Stiffen at this, the Doctor got up quickly. Turning around to face Kayla, he held out his hand. She rolled her eyes but took the hand and used it to get up from the couch. Once she was up on her feet, the Doctor wrapped his arms around her briefly. If anyone was looking on, like an annoyed Martha, then it would appear as if the Doctor was steadying Kayla. But in reality, he was hugging her tightly. Through their mental links, he promised that the girl would not get _near_ their baby. Because he had felt the flash of fear, he had felt her stiffen, when Martha had come in.

Kayla closed her eyes and rested her head on the Doctor’s shoulder. _‘I love you.’_

_‘I love you too.’_

Taking Kayla’s hand, the Doctor squeezed it tightly as he stepped back from her. Giving her a grin that she returned tightly, the Doctor took the first step forwards, and then the next, and then next ones until they were at the sheet. Pulling it back, the Doctor walked in first and Kayla followed him. Their hands interlocked, the two came face-to-face with Solomon. The black man looked very, very angry. His arms were crossed and his face was set in a hard frown. “I’ve already lost Frank today,” the man started.

Kayla looked over at the Doctor, her eyes widening. He subtly shook his head. In their link, he promised to fill her in later, to tell her the full story. She gave a slight nod, though she added _‘I don’t like it.’_ The Doctor squeezed her hand and addressed Solomon with, “I know. Frank was a…very good man.”

Solomon nodded. “I will not see anyone else get hurt, even Tallulah.”

“Tallulah?” Kayla asked sharply with a frown.

“The girl,” Solomon corrected.

Both the Doctor and Kayla stiffened and the Doctor squeezed Kayla’s hand. “The girl that knocked out my…my Kayla?” he asked, though it was more of a statement than anything.

The black man shifted. “Listen, I know you must be angry at this girl, but she’s just a child-“ he started to protest.

Kayla cut him off. “She knocked me out.”

He held up his hands. “She is not innocent,” he agreed. “But please, no more death today.”

The Doctor gave him a long look before sighing. “You’re right.” Kayla squeezed his hand.

_‘You have more self-control as I do,’_ she said through the mental link as Solomon gave him a heartfelt thanks and allowed them to go further into the blocked off room until they were in front of Tallulah, the girl who had knocked Kayla out.

This was the first time the brunette had seen her attacker, and she was not impressed. The girl had blonde hair that was clearly dyed to be more platinum than it naturally was. She had those big, pouty lips that made the girl seem like she was impossible to please. She had no muscles that Kayla could see and was dressed in a showgirl outfit. The only attractive feature that Kayla could see were her blue doe eyes. Those were very nice and pleasant to look at…when they were not rimmed in red and filled in tears like they currently were.

“You’re Tallulah, correct?” Kayla asked as she moved in front of the girl, the Doctor hovering closely behind just in case.

The blonde girl whimpered and then nodded. “I am. And I am so sorry for knocking you out. If I had known you were pregnant-“

“Stop,” the Doctor cut in suddenly. This action, being so unlike him, made Kayla turn around and look at him with a raise eyebrow. “She was giving you a headache,” he protested in a softer voice. Kayla had to grin at that. The babbling Tallulah was doing _was_ giving her a headache. Still, the Doctor was always the nice one, always. So did that mean Kayla had to be the nice one for him now? Kayla frowned at this, which made the Doctor also frown. Moving forwards, he took her hand and squeezed it and kissed her forehead.

The two turned back to the girl, who was sniffling and looking utterly miserable. _‘Doctor…she didn’t mean to,’_ she pointed out. She was surprising herself by doing this, by pointing out that the girl was just a girl. She didn’t mean to, that was clear by the babbling and the crying, but also it disturbed, no, _worried_ her that the Doctor was being so…not him. He was being her. He was being cruel and just…that wasn’t how it was supposed to be. Kayla was the mean one and the Doctor was the one that pulled her back. It was how they worked and functioned. With the Doctor being the opposite, she felt like she needed to reign him back in. Because if she didn’t then who knows what would happen?

The Doctor, very surprised that Kayla wanted to be nice with this girl, looked over at Kayla to try and read her face. She appeared worried, though that wasn’t because of Tallulah. She was clearly thinking through something, so he waited until Kayla squeezed his hand and then left his side and went over to Tallulah. He watched, so wanting to go after her and protect her, as she silently untied the girl from the chair.

“Who’s Lazlo?” Kayla asked once all the bonds had fallen off the girl.

Tallulah sniffled and blinked up at her and then over at the Doctor before looking back at Kayla. “Lazlo’s my boyfriend, or was my boyfriend until two weeks ago.  No letter, no good-bye, no nothin’.  And I’m not stupid. I know some guys are just pigs but not my Lazlo.  I mean, what kinda guy asks you to meet his mother before he vamooses?”

Kayla frowned and looked over at the Doctor, who shrugged. “Do you think that he disappeared along with those guys from Hooverville?”

The Doctor seemed to consider this for a while. Finally, he shrugged, unable to figure this out. Taking out the blob he found in the sewers, he looked down at it. “If I could find out the origins of this then we’ll have something.”

“I’ll go look for stuff with Solomon in the prop room and Martha can talk to Tallulah,” Kayla stated.

Grinning, the Doctor seemed to want to give Kayla a kiss, but looking down at the blob in his hands, he instead grinned at her. _‘I love you.’_

_‘Love you too.’_

Turning, Kayla pulled back the sheet and walked over to Solomon, who was sitting in the dressing room next to a concerned-looking Martha. “Solomon, with me. Martha, go talk to Tallulah.”

The two in question looked at each other. Martha shrugged and headed over to the blonde while Solomon got up to his feet. “Where to?”

“The prop room.”

* * *

In the prop room, Solomon watched as Kayla walked through the many props, trying to find something electronic that was real, which was turning out to be a challenged. Growling and tossing aside yet another fake radio, she turned to face Solomon, who was still watching her. “Are you going to help?” she snapped, her arms crossing across her chest.

He blinked and then nodded. “How did you start…traveling, with the Doctor?” He asked as he started to ruffle behind the box he had been leaning behind.

Kayla waved her hand at the question. “We ran into each other once and I decided to join him,” she replied dismissively.

“Was Miss Jones with you then?” Solomon wondered as he moved on to a different area.

She shook her head. “She only recently joined us. He had a different person with him but that was ages ago.” Huffing, she put her hands on her hips. “Almost like a different life,” she muttered to herself as she started to remember the old Doctor, the one with the short hair and leather jacket.

“How about this?” Solomon asked, causing Kayla to jump slightly and look over at the man. He was holding an old radio that was clearly real.

Kayla grinned widely and took it from him. “Perfect. This is just what the Doctor is looking for. He’ll just rig it up to a crude DNA scanner for that green thing we found in the sewers and we can get some readings,” she explained to the shocked man.

Trying to keep up and evidently failing, Solomon just nodded his head and muttered, “Whatever you say.” Following the woman back to the dressing room, he asked, “Where are you from, Miss Kayla? I’ve been all over.  I’ve never heard anybody talk like you.  Just exactly who are you?”

Kayla gave a light shrug and fiddled with the radio. “A lot of places,” she settled on.

Solomon sighed. “I’m not an idiot,” he reprimanded her. “If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to.”

She gave him a tight smile. “Sorry,” she apologized rather lightly.

Solomon shook his head. “I gotta get back to Hooverville.  With these creatures on the loose, we gotta protect ourselves.  Ain’t no one else gonna help us.”

“Good luck,” Kayla stated, and then gave him a true smile.

“I hope you and your Doctor find what you’re looking for. For all our sakes,” Solomon replied. And then, turning away, the black man left. Watching where he had been for a few moments, Kayla hurried off to the Doctor.

“Solomon left?” the Time Lord asked as she came in by herself, the radio in hand.

She nodded. “He needed to protect Hooverville,” she explained. Handing him the radio, she watched, amused, as the Doctor pulled a piece out from it and blew on it before he started to hook it up to the green blob.

“We’re gonna need heat,” he muttered as he soniced it. “Loads of heat. Where can we get heat in 1930’s New York?”

“Stage lights?” Kayla suggested, still watching the Doctor as he worked.

He smiled and grabbed the blob. “You are a genius,” he agreed. Carrying the blob, he hurried out of the room, which left Kayla no choice but to follow. The two hurried through the theater until they were in the balcony.

* * *

Meanwhile, Martha stood in the wings of stage, watching as Tallulah, wearing a comical angel outfit for her show, was readying for her big solo. “Girls, it’s showtime!” the blonde girl called out.

All the girls stopped talking and became more serious. Martha moved to the side, allowing them better access as the announcer yelled into a microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen…the girls are here to preform Heaven and Hell!”

The chorus girls all trooped out on stage with Tallulah in front. Martha grinned as she saw the woman, who had been so distraught just a few moments ago, was now grinning and looking as if everything was so well. Never mind that the depression was going on, at that moment it seemed as if everything was alright in the world.

_“You lured me in with your cold grey eyes. Your simple smile and your bewitching lies,”_ Tallulah started to crone.

* * *

In the balcony, Kayla groaned and sat down. “What is that horrible noise?” she muttered to the Doctor.

The Doctor laughed and made to pat her head before he thought better of it. “We’re nearly done.”

“It’s artificial, it’s alien…that really doesn’t narrow it down,” Kayla pointed out.

Giving her a bemused smile, the Doctor grabbed a stethoscope from his pocket and placed it on the blob. “Fundamental DNA type 467-989.  989.  Hold on, that means planet of origin.” Hearing the worry in his voice, Kayla stared at the look of horror and disbelief that passed over his face. “Skaro,” he gasped.

Kayla shot to her feet. “What do we do?” she asked him urgently, her eyes not on him but flickering around the theater. The Daleks were in New York.

Giving her a worried look, the Doctor grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. “We have to find Martha,” he called to her.

Nodding, Kayla followed him as quickly as she could. _‘She was with Tallulah. We need to check backstage.’_

Pulling her along, the Doctor stopped backstage in the wings. There, he became extremely uncomfortable as he realized how scantily dressed the show girls, who were dressed up as devils, were.

“Where’s Martha?” Kayla asked Tallulah urgently, spotting the girl through the crowd.

Recognizing her and hearing her question, Tallulah came over. “I don’t know.  She ran off the stage,” the blonde woman explained with a hint of a huff.

Suddenly there was a scream from the prop room. The Doctor grabbed Kayla and pulled her after him, though she didn’t need much pushing as they both recognized the scream to belong to Martha. By the clattering of heels behind them, it seemed that Tallulah was following them.

However, when they arrived in the prop room, they found it deserted. “Doctor,” Kayla said, pointing to the open sewer tunnel.

The Doctor nodded and kissed Kayla. “You should-“ he started to say, but Kayla cut him off.

“Not a chance,” she said with a shake of her head.

Nodding, he grabbed an overcoat and handed it to her. She pulled it on and then started to climb into the sewer. The Doctor, giving a mock wave to Tallulah, followed after her.

* * *

Far away from the Doctor and Kayla in the sewers, Martha was being roughly handled by two pig-men. Despite her kicking and struggling and yelling at them to “let me go,” she found herself being shoved into line along with a bunch of other humans. And then she spotted him.

“Frank?” She gasped. Then, her eyes widened and she moved through the line and hugged him tightly while saying as loudly as she dared, “Frank! You’re alive.”

Frank blinked down at the girl. “Hey,” he said roughly. “I thought you guys didn’t want me.”

“What do mean?” Martha asked, pulling away from the man to frown at him. “You’re a great guy! I like you, the Doctor likes you-“

“Could have fooled me.” Shaking his head, he looked down. “He left me. He could have saved me and he didn’t,” Frank explained.

Martha stared at him in shock. “What?” she gasped.

* * *

In the sewers, Kayla squeezed the Doctor’s hand as he spoke about what had happened when he had left Frank behind. “I feel so horrible about it,” he was finishing, “because the poor boy is now dead because of me.”

“I won’t lie and say it’s alright,” Kayla started slowly. “But remember that you did not tell Frank you would protect him. You are not the only one at fault.”

Looking away from her, the Doctor suddenly pushed her against the wall, his eyes widening at something in the shadows that moved in a familiar way. Pressing Kayla against the wall, he mouthed ‘shh,’ at her.

_‘Daleks...’_ he warned in her mind.

Kayla bit down on her lip, her eyes widening. The last two run ins with Daleks had not turned out well for all party involved.

Thankfully, the Dalek didn’t seem to see them. Instead, it went off. Once it was completely gone, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and walked with her quickly. _‘I was so stupid for bringing you down here,’_ he started to rant in her head.

_‘Doctor! I’m not a child-‘_

_‘You’re carrying our child.’_

This made Kayla pause and allow the Doctor to continue leading her. But somehow, luck was on their side. They took a wrong turn, the Doctor too wrapped up in thinking about Kayla and Martha to notice. But then, he heard the squealing.

“We took a wrong turn,” he stated, and then cursed softly.

Kayla squeezed his hand and then nodded to a corner, where they could duck behind and watch. Nodding, the two hurried over and then peered behind the corner to see Martha, who looked terrified but determined, Frank, who looked roughed-up, and a bunch of other men all in a line with pig-men acting a guards. Martha and Frank seemed to be speaking to each other, but both looked up at the sound of the pig-men starting to squeal and grow restless.

And then…a Dalek slid into the tunnel, looking just as horrible as Kayla remembered them. Behind her, she felt the Doctor stiffen. His anxiousness and fear grew, and then tripled as the Dalek spoke in its horrible, electronic voice. **“Silence.  Silence.”**

Kayla flickered her eyes over to Martha, who was staring at the machine with open horror. She seemed to hiss something to Frank, but quickly shut up as the Dalek commanded, **“You will form a line.  Move.”**

Obviously, everyone was not happy with this command. The pig-men started to press in, forcing the line back. Some in the line didn’t seem to get the memo and started to push back against the pig-men, which made them squeal and push back even harder.

“Just do what it says, everyone, okay?  Just obey,” Martha said in a loud voice, though anyone with a brain could hear the disgust in her voice at the idea of just lying down and taking whatever the Daleks wanted.

If Daleks could sound pleased, then the Dalek would have sounded gleeful. Instead, it called out after Martha, **“The female is wise.  Obey!”**

As the line started to fall in place, _another_ Dalek came in, its arrival making the Doctor wrap his arms around Kayla waist and place his hands over her stomach as if to reassure himself that she was still there. Kayla relaxed in his grip but still watched as the two Daleks conversed.

**“Report,”** the new Dalek ordered.

**“These are strong specimens.  They will help the Dalek cause,”** the original Dalek said in what would most likely be a proud voice. **“What is the status of the Final Experiment?”**

**“The Dalekanium is in place.  The energy conductor is now complete,”** the second Dalek answered.

**“Then I will extract prisoners for selection.”** Turning away from the newcomer, the original Dalek face the line as the pig-men grabbed an older black man and pulled him in front of the Dalek. Extending its sucker arm, Kayla closed her eyes, imaging the death of the scientist at Torchwood Three all over again. Instead, the Dalek said, **“Intelligence scan.  Initiate.  Reading brain waves.  Low intelligence.”**

“You calling me stupid?” the man protested rather stupidly.

The Dalek, of course, ignored this. **“This one will become a pig slave,”** it stated.

The man’s eyes widened and his expression became one of horror. “No, let go of me!  I’m not becoming one of them!” the man yelled as he was dragged off by the two pig-men.

Ignoring his shouts, the Dalek traveled down the line, putting the humans into two categories: Superior intelligence and lower intelligence. Frank, surprisingly, was put into the superior category. But Martha, was announced to be **“part of the Final Experiment.”**

“You can’t just experiment on people!  It’s insane!  It’s inhuman!” Martha yelled at the Daleks, her voice cracking as she seemed to realize what a spot she was in.

**“We are not human.  Prisoners of high intelligence will be taken to the transgenic laboratory,”** the Dalek ordered.

As the people were forced to march, the Doctor kissed Kayla gently. _‘You know what I got to do,’_ he said through their mental link.

Kayla nodded and then disappeared into the shadows. The Doctor, however, got in line behind Martha. Taking her wrist, he tapped it with his index finger four times. “Just keep walking.”

“We’ll talk later about Frank,” Martha hissed back at him. “But I’m so glad to see you.”

The Doctor just remained silent and did his best to be unnoticed.

* * *

While the line was marched through the sewers, Kayla walked into Hooverville and then went straight to Solomon’s tent. “Solomon,” she started once she got inside. “I’m going to tell you everything.” Solomon stared up at her from the seat he was in. Silently, he motioned for her to sit down, which she did.

* * *

In the lab, the Doctor, Martha, and Frank watched in horror as a Dalek’s shell _opened_ to reveal what would be best described as a Dalek-human hybrid. Its clothing was a nice suit, which the Doctor realized in shock was the same as Diagroas. But the head that came out of the suit was not the one that had belonged to the oily business man. Instead, it was green and clearly slimy, like that of a Dalek’s skin. It had an odd mouth, one eye, and tentacles. Its hands were almost claw-like. It was completely horrible.

And then, it spoke. Its voice sounded too much like a human and too much like a Dalek’s. “I am a human Dalek.  I am your future.”

**TO BE CONTINUED**


	14. Evolution of the Daleks Pt. 1

The Doctor was in panic mode. What he was witnessing, the birth of a human and a Dalek was everything the Time Lords, including himself, feared. And, what made it worse was that his Bonded, his Kayla, was on the same planet, mere minutes away, from this…this abomination. For centuries, the Daleks and the Time Lords had been bitter enemies, but for an unholy combination of the two to not only be born, but to be born in front of a Time Lord…it was just wrong. Every part of the Doctor was screaming at him to destroy the Dalek/human hybrid. If it got out, his Bonded would be in danger. So he slipped behind some machinery while the horrible thing that used to be human started to speak to the other Daleks and the humans who had been selected for their intelligence.

**“These…humans will become like me. Prepare them for hybridisation.”**

The Doctor didn’t look up from his work, even as what sounded like the pig-slaves started to close in on the humans, and even as Martha started to yell, “Leave me alone! Don’t you dare!” No, he did not look up or pause from his work. If anything, these noises made the Doctor work faster, harder, so that his plan worked. And of course, it did. The speaker in the Doctor’s hand started to boom _‘Happy Days are Here Again,’_ and everything in the room paused to look around for the source of the music and who had started it.

Finally, just as he knew it would, the Dalek/human asked, **“What is that sound?”**

Smirking, the Doctor stepped out with the speaker still in hand and waved at the Daleks. “That would be me.” Knowing if anything went wrong, he set the speaker down on the boxes next to him. He rather like that speaker and, if he remembered, he decided he would pick it up later so that he could play some music in the TARDIS for Kayla and the baby. “Hello. Surprise. Boo. Et cetera,” he added on with a wave of his hand.

 **“Doctor,”** the Dalek/human stated.

 **“The enemy of the Daleks,”** one of the surrounding Daleks said.

And then, of course, one of the other Daleks cried out, **“Exterminate.”** For what was supposed to be Skaro’s best minds, which now that the Doctor thought about it that really wasn’t saying much, the Cult of Skaro were really easy to predict. Then again, they were just Daleks.

However, what did surprise him was that the Dalek/human held up its hand and ordered, **“Wait.”**

This order made the Daleks pause and the Doctor to tilt his head slightly. The fact that it had ordered to wait before killing him was…mercy, or at least close enough to it. Just what exactly was going through this thing’s mind? Seeing his chance, however, he addressed it. “Well, then. A new form of Dalek.” He started to walk forwards, his eyes on the Dalek/human and not on the twitching Daleks who wanted to kill him. “Fascinating and very clever.”

 **“The Cult of Skaro escaped your slaughter,”** the Dalek/human informed him. Oh yes, that had been a slaughter for the Daleks and the Cybermen _and_ the humans, but it had saved Kayla, so the Doctor did not regret it in the slightest.

“How did you end up in 1930?” he asked the Dalek/human.

If anything, and this was very bizarre to the Doctor, the Dalek/human almost looked _ashamed_ when he answered **“Emergency Temporal Shift.”** But the Dalek/human _couldn’t_ be ashamed. Daleks only felt hate, and feeling shame wasn’t hate.

So the Doctor scoffed out loud, partly at himself for thinking the Dalek/human was ashamed, and partly at the Daleks for running away. “Oh, that must have roasted up your power cells, yeah?” He guessed. Turning away, he started to stride around the room, taking in the unfinished nature of it and the Daleks and the pig-men and the humans in just a few gazes. “Time was, four Daleks could have conquered the world but instead your skulking away, hidden in the dark, experimenting.” Shaking his head, the Doctor turned back to the Dalek/human and took a deep breath. “All of which results in you.”

 **“I am Dalek in human form,”** the Dalek/human merely responded, which made the Doctor pause. Just _how_ human was this Dalek?

Smirking and his mind only on the test at hand, he hurried towards the Dalek and leaned in. By the way the Dalek/human was ordering the others, the Doctor figured this had to be Dalek Sec, the leader of the Cult of Skaro. This meant he had a name, and names were very, very powerful.

“What does it feel like? You can talk to me, Dalek Sec. It is Dalek Sec, isn’t it? That’s your name? You’ve got a name and a mind of your own. Tell me what you’re thinking right now,” the Doctor pushed at the Dalek/human.

Surprisingly, the Dalek/human paused and seemed to think on his question. **“I…feel…humanity,”** the Dalek/human admitted.

The Doctor nodded. “Good. That’s good.”

And then, the Dalek/human just _had_ to be more Dalek. **“I…feel…everything we wanted from mankind, which is ambition, hatred, aggression and war. Such…a genius for war.”**

The Doctor gritted his teeth and shook his head. The Dalek/human had failed in its test. “No, that’s not what humanity means.”

 **“I think it does. At heart, this species is so very…Dalek,”** the Dalek/human countered.

Pushing away from the Dalek/human, the Doctor started to stride around the room, making it seem like he was aimlessly wandering when really, his eyes were on one tiny little object. It seemed that Kayla would not be getting her radio after all.

“All right, so what have you achieved hen? With this Final Experiment, eh? Nothing! ‘Cause I can show you what you’re missing with this thing,” pointing at the radio, the Doctor grinned widely. “Simple little radio,” he added in and then pat the radio for good measure.

 **“What is the purpose of that device?”** One of the Daleks asked.

This was exactly what the Doctor wanted and his smile got wider. “Well, exactly. It plays music. What’s the point of that? Oh, with music, you can dance to it, sing with it, fall in love to it. Unless you’re a Dalek of course. Then it’s just noise.” And with that, the Doctor turned straight towards the radio and pointed his sonic screwdriver at it. Instantly, the radio blasted a high-pitched noise that made all the Daleks spin and jerk and the Dalek/human hold its head in agony.

Not wasting a single moment, the Doctor turned to the prisoners. “Run!” he yelled. The prisoners didn’t wait to be told twice and ran out of the room. Looking back on his work, the Doctor turned and followed the prisoners, the cries of the Daleks to protect what used to be Dalek Sec echoing in his ears.

* * *

In Hooverville, a camp set up in the middle of Central Park for those who were down on their luck, as many were in the 1930’s, Kayla sat in a small tent with the default leader, Solomon, staring at her with wide eyes. She had just told him that she and the Doctor were aliens, Time Lord and Time Lady to be exact, and that they, along with Martha, were time travelers. The TARDIS, which she did not show him, was their spaceship. By the way his mouth was hanging open, he wasn’t taking it well.

“You mean to tell me that you’re an alien?”

“Yes,” Kayla said with a nod, only barely holding back a sigh.

Solomon shook his head. “How can I believe this…this insanity?”

Suddenly, Kayla ran out of the tent, her head ringing with the mental yell from the Doctor. Worried for her, Solomon hurried out after her. “Kayla! Kayla are you alright?” he called after her.

Kayla waved her hand. Turning on the spot, her eyes widened and she grinned as she saw a mass of people, their clothes dirtied from the sewers, coming towards her. And then, a lanky figure broke through the ranks and ran towards her. Soon, the Doctor was hugging her, and Kayla sighed in relief and laid her head on his shoulder. The Doctor ran a hand through her hair and then kissed her forehead. “We don’t have long,” he warned her softly.

Kayla looked up at him, her forehead furrowing in concern. “What should we do?”

Pulling away, the Doctor took Kayla’s hand and addressed the crowd that had gathered around everyone. It seemed that the prisoners had woken their families, and their neighbors, and now the entire group of Hooverville had made a ring to find out just _what_ was happening.

“You’re families are back, but we are not safe,” the Doctor informed everyone bluntly. At this, people started to hiss at each other in complete terror. Those whispers silenced when Solomon held up his hand. A box of matches was in his hand and he had started to light the barrels to create a fire so that people could see the Doctor. “Thank you,” the Doctor said with a nod to the black man, who grinned slightly back. “They were taken by pig-men slaves, who work for the Daleks. These Daleks want to bred, to spread out among the stars, and they want Earth to be their starting point.”

The Doctor shook his head, which made Kayla give him a reassuring squeeze. Giving her a grin, the Doctor continued on with his speech. “The Daleks are going to come after us, they will use you _all_ as cattle, your age and gender will not matter. The _only_ way we can do this is if we fight. We need to set up a sentry to guard the camp. When the pig-men come, they will warn us.”

“I will,” One man offered.

The Doctor nodded to him. “Thank you. The rest of you, prepare for a fight and also prepare to leave Hooverville forever.” It seemed that a general cry of “what” rose up from the crowd. Having expected this, the Doctor waited for everyone to calm down before continuing, “They will use you as breeding stalk. We can fight them off now, but then you guys need to leave. Daleks…they are unstoppable. Go somewhere else, go to a different state, do whatever, but just leave!”

Everyone in the crowd seemed to stare at Solomon for answers. The black man sighed. “I…I don’t know about these things…I…I think you should listen to the Doctor. Pack your things. I know that we have no were else to go, so we’ll make a new place out of New York.” Seeming to be satisfied, the crowd dispersed. Solomon sighed and turned to the Doctor and Kayla. “Are these Daleks like you? Are they alien too?”

“They’re alien, yes,” Kayla answered as she felt the Doctor tense next to her at the idea of being compared to Daleks. “But he and I are _nothing_ like the Daleks. They’re pure evil.”

Solomon chuckled to himself and shook his head. “They sound like it. Evil and the stuff of pure nightmares. And they wanna breed?”

The Doctor nodded. “They’re splicing themselves into human bodies. If I’m right, they’ve got a farm of breeding stock right here in Hooverville. We’ve got to get everyone out.”

Solomon stared at the Doctor, his eyes wide. “There’s got to be a way to reason with these things,” he suggested.

Martha, who was standing further away from the Doctor and Kayla than normal, interjected in the conversation with, “There’s not a chance.”

Next to her, Frank added in, “You ain’t seen ‘em, boss.”

“Daleks are bad enough at anytime, but right now they’re vulnerable and that makes them more dangerous than ever,” the Doctor finished darkly.

Sighing, Solomon turned away to the fire, which gave Kayla a chance to go over to Martha. “Hey,” she started in a soft voice, “you alright? The Doctor told me you yelled at the Daleks. That’s pretty impressive.”

Martha’s brow furrowing and she lightly led Kayla away from the Doctor and Frank, the brunette only allowing this because she was so curious to see what was up with the black woman. “Did you know?” Martha asked in a soft voice.

“Did I know what?” Kayla asked back, her arms crossing.

Martha shook her head. “The Doctor. He _left_ Frank behind to those pig-men! He could have saved him but he didn’t, and thank god that Frank is still alive.”

Kayla stared at Martha. In her mind, she could feel the Doctor’s worry at her tension and his want to come over. But she quickly shot that down. “Martha,” Kayla sighed, “he told me, so yes I did know that that happened. But it’s…when a Time Lord’s Bonded is in danger, they focus in on that. He felt me get knocked out and he panicked. He focused in on me and anyone who was in danger gets left behind unless they happen to be on the path to me.” Martha opened her mouth to speak, but Kayla held up her hand. “It’s not right, and the Doctor feels horrible about it. He is going to speak to Frank about it once this whole mess is over. And once we’re back to the TARDIS…there’s something I have to tell you too.”

Before Martha could respond, the sentry that they had set up, the one who was watching for the pig-men, suddenly rang his bell and then started to run towards the middle of Hooverville. “They’re coming! They’re coming!”

The Doctor was suddenly at Kayla’s side, his hands on her shoulder as if he was prepared to move her using them. “You’re not safe!”

Kayla’s whose arms had uncrossed, placed a hand on her stomach. “Where do I go?”

The Doctor looked around and then spotted Solomon’s tent. “There!” Kayla instantly went over and the Time Lord turned to Martha. “Please, go be with her. If something were to happen…” his voice trailing off, he shook his head.

Martha just nodded, knowing what the Doctor meant. If something were to happen to him, then Kayla would be alone and pregnant. If she stayed with her, she would at least have someone to help her. So she went over to the tent and stepped inside. She tried to smile but that failed, so she just sat down in the chair opposite of Kayla.

“Now’s as good time as any to tell me what you wanted to tell me in the TARDIS,” Martha pointed out, trying so hard to ignore the sounds that had started outside.

Kayla, however, wasn’t paying attention. Her eyes were closed, but she seemed too focused and alert to be asleep. It took Martha a moment to realize that she had to be doing something to contact the Doctor. “What do you see?” she asked in a soft voice. “What’s going on?”

“Pig-men, everywhere. Hooverville is surrounded. This can’t be their only move, one is coming. Must protect Kayla. She and my child must live on. Dalek!” At the end, her eyes flew open and the monotone she had been speaking in broke and her voice cracked slightly with the cry. Stumbling slightly to her feet, she started towards the tent.

“Kayla! The Doctor said to stay in here-“ Martha turned around, her eyes wide as she heard the explosions start. Her hand fell off Kayla’s shoulder, which allowed the brunette to hurry out to the Doctor. Martha, shaking her head, followed. “I tried,” she muttered as soon as she was next to the Doctor.

It seemed that the Doctor didn’t hear her, or if he did he didn’t seem to care. His arm was around Kayla, who had wrapped both her arms around his waist and was refusing to let go, not that the Doctor was trying to get her off. Instead, he was just watching the attack on the people, his mouth opened slightly and his eyes widening.

Next to him, Solomon stepped forwards. The Doctor held out an arm and shook his head. “No, Solomon. Stay back,” he warned in a low voice.

Solomon ignored him. Instead, he called out to the attacking Daleks, “I’m told that I’m addressin’ the Daleks, is that right? From what I hear, you’re outcasts, too.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Solomon, don’t,” he tried to warn again.

“Doctor, this is my township, you will respect my authority,” Solomon retorted, and then sighed. “Just let me try,” he pleaded.

Shaking his head, the Doctor stepped back with Kayla, and watched as Solomon tried to ask for peace with a Dalek. But what the black man didn’t know, what he would never know, is that Daleks killed.

“Daleks…ain’t we all the same? Underneath, ain’t we all kin?” Solomon pointed out, and then, he dropped the rifle he had been holding. “Cause, see, I’ve just discovered this past day God’s universe is a thousand times the size I thought it was. And that scares me. Oh, yeah. Terrifies me. Right down to the bone. But it’s got to give me hope…hope that maybe together we can make a better tomorrow. So I…I beg you now if you have any compassion in your hearts then you’ll meet with us and stop this fight. Well…what do you say?”

It came as no shock to the Doctor and Kayla that the Dalek promptly replied, **“Exterminate!”**

“Oh no!” Frank cried as the Dalek shot Solomon and killed him, on the spot. The boy ran over to Solomon and knelt by him, shaking his head. “No! Solomon!”

“They killed him. They just shot him on the spot,” Martha gasped, her eyes huge.

Kayla turned her head from the Doctor to look at Martha and shake her head. “They’re Daleks. That’s what they do. Kill.” At her words, the Doctor suddenly, but still gently, pulled away from Kayla, which made the pregnant woman gasp and cry out, “Doctor!”

Ignoring her, he yelled out at the Dalek that had shot Solomon, “Daleks!” He then moved forwards and held his arms out to his side, exposing his chest. “All right, so it’s my turn! Then kill me! Kill me if it’ll stop you attacking these people!”

“Doctor, no!” Kayla yelled from behind him, but the Doctor didn’t turn around. His mind was just too consumed with anger to the Daleks for killing innocent people, for endangering his Bonded, that he refused to really see what he was doing, which was leaving his child to be fatherless.

 **“I will be the destroyer of our greatest enemy,”** the Dalek said, shaking in the air at the mere excitement it was feeling for the kill it was about to commit.

“Then do it! Do it! Just do it!” the Doctor yelled at the Dalek. “Do it!”

 **“Extermin—“** Just as the Dalek was about to kill the Doctor, just as Kayla was about to shove the Doctor out of the way and literally take the kill for him, the Dalek’s voice cut off, which made the Doctor’s arms fall to his side and Kayla to run over to him and hug him so tightly he could barely breathe. He instantly wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her back with his hand.

 **“I do not understand. It is the Doctor,”** the Dalek cried out suddenly, making the couple stare up at the Dalek in alarm. After a pause, it said, **“The urge to kill is too strong.”**

“Kayla, run,” the Doctor ordered, trying to move Kayla away from him.

Kayla shook her head. “Never without you.”

Realizing that he was likely going to die along side with his Bonded, the Doctor returned the hug in full and buried his face in her hair just as the Dalek said, **“I…obey.”**

The Doctor looked up at the Dalek, his mouth dropping open slightly. “What’s going on?”

 **“You will follow,”** the Dalek ordered instead of answering.

The Doctor pulled away and looked at Kayla. “You need to-“

“To hell with staying here! I’m not letting you go off to a mass of Daleks by yourself!”

The Doctor shook his head. “Kayla, you’re pregnant. They could kill you!”

“Then at least I’ll die next to you.”

The Time Lord sighed and looked down. “Fine,” he huffed. “But I don’t like this. And if something goes wrong you _run.”_

Kayla nodded and then took the Doctor’s hand. Suddenly, Martha ran over with a cry of, “No! You can’t go!”

“We got to go, Martha. The Daleks just changed their minds…and they never change their minds,” Kayla said in a soft voice.

Martha shook her head. “But what about us?” She protested as she gestured to the people of Hooverville who had gathered around.

Looking at them, the Doctor turned to face the Dalek. “One condition! If I come with you, you spare the lives of everyone here! And, you will let me take Kayla with me! Do you hear me?”

If Daleks could, this Dalek clearly would have sighed. After a pause, it replied, **“The humans will be spared and you can take Kayla. Doctor…Kayla…follow.”**

“Then I’m coming with you,” Martha stated, her arms crossing.

The Doctor whirled around and shook his head. “Martha, stay here. Do what you do best. People are hurt. You can help them. Let us go.” Trying his best to ignore the hurt expression on Martha’s face, the Doctor took Kayla’s hand and started to walk away before he turned around and winked at her. “Oh, and can I just say, thank you very much.” And, then the two walked off.

 _‘Did you give it to her?’_ Kayla asked mentally, squeezing his hand.

 _‘Yep,’_ even through the mental link, the Doctor popped the ‘p’ in the word. _‘She has the psychic paper.’_

Behind the two, Martha frowned and opened her hand to see the psychic paper in it. She grinned widely. It seemed that the Doctor had need of her after all.

* * *

Having walked all the way to the Empire State Building and then into a chamber, Kayla and the Doctor walked towards Dalek Sec. Kayla hung back, her eyes wide as she saw the state of the Dalek/human. The Doctor was less horrified. Sure, he took a step back and closed his eyes, but he already knew what the Dalek/human looked like, so he was able to quickly recover and yell at Dalek Sec.

“Those people were defenceless! You only wanted me, but no, that wasn’t enough for you! You had to start killing ‘cause that’s the only thing a Dalek’s good for!” He yelled at it.

 **“The deaths…were wrong,”** Dalek Sec admitted slowly.

The Doctor paused, his mouth open to continue yelling at the Dalek/human. Kayla took a step forwards, her eyes wide. “What did you say?” she asked softly.

 **“That man, their leader Solomon, he showed courage,”** Dalek Sec elaborated.

Kayla took another step forwards. “And do you think that’s good?”

Dalek Sec nodded. **“That’s excellent.”**

The Doctor looked over at him, his head tilting slightly. “Is it me or are you just becoming a little bit more human?” the Doctor asked, glancing at Kayla as he spoke.

 **“You two are the last of your kind and now I am the first of mine,”** Dalek Sec pointed out simply.

Frowning, the Doctor crossed his arms and looked around. “What do you want me for?” he finally asked.

**“We tried everything to survive when we found ourselves stranded in this ignorant age. First we tried growing new Dalek embryos but their flesh was too weak.”**

“We found one of those in the sewers,” Kayla informed him. “Couldn’t you have at least destroyed it?”

Dalek Sec ignored her and choose to continue. **“It forced us to conclude what is the greatest resource of this planet—its people.”** Going over to a large switch, he flipped it up. This caused the ceiling above the three to light up, which revealed hundreds of what had to be human bodies lying, suspended. Kayla let out a small gasp and the Doctor hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her. She swallowed hard, trying not to vomit as one of the bodies, thankfully it was shrouded, was lowered down.

**“We stole them. We stole human beings for our purpose. Look…inside.”**

Holding Kayla’s hand, the Doctor walked over to the shroud and carefully opened it. Inside was a brutish man, his skin pale and his eyes closed.

 **“This…is the extent of the Final Experiment,”** Dalek Sec informed them, actually sounding upset about how far the plan was going.

Kayla looked over at the Dalek/human and shook her head. “Is he…is he dead?”

 **“Near death with his mind wiped ready to be filled with new ideas,”** Dalek Sec explained.

The Doctor frowned at this. “Dalek ideas,” he stated bluntly.

 **“The Human-Dalek race.”** Dalek Sec agreed.

Kayla closed the shroud carefully and then looked up at the ceiling. “How many?”

**“We have caverns beyond this storing more than a thousand.”**

“Is there any way to restore them? Make them human again?” The Doctor asked.

Dalek Sec shook his head. **“Everything they were has been lost.”**

“So they’re like shells. You’ve got empty human beings ready to be converted. That’s going to take a hell of a lot of power. This planet hasn’t even split the atom yet. How’re you gonna do it?” the Doctor asked, his voice hardening as he questioned the Daleks plan.

In response, Dalek Sec called out, **“Open the conductor plan.”**

A hologram appeared, showing the Empire State building. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Empire State Building. We’re right underneath that. I worked that out already, thanks. But what, you hijacked the whole building?”

 **“We needed an energy conductor,”** Dalek Sec informed them.

Kayla frowned. “Why? What’s it for?”

 **“I…am the genetic template. My altered DNA was to be administered to each human body. A strong enough blast of gamma radiation can splice the Dalek and human genetic codes and wake each body from its sleep,”** the Dalek/human explained.

“Gamma radiation? What are-- Oh, the sun. You’re using the sun,” the Doctor gasped, realizing the plan.

Dalek Sec nodded. **“Soon…the greatest solar flare for a thousand years will hit the Earth. Gamma radiation will be drawn to the energy conductor and when it strikes—“**

“The army will awaken,” Kayla finished.

The Doctor nodded. “Exactly. But I still don’t know what you need me for.”

**“Your genius. Consider a pure Dalek; intelligent but emotionless.”**

The Doctor frowned and crossed his arms. “Removing the emotions makes you stronger. That’s what your creator thought all those years ago,” he pointed out.

And then, the Dalek/human said something that completely caught the Doctor and Kayla off guard and made the Daleks, who had been lingering back until then, twitch and look at each other. For Dalek Sec said, **“He was wrong.”**

“He was what?” Kayla asked, her brow arching while the Doctor just kinda stared at the Dalek/human blankly, still trying to process the words.

**“It makes us lesser than our enemies. We must return to the flesh. And also…the heart,”**

“But you wouldn’t be the supreme beings anymore,” Kayla pointed out.

Dalek Sec nodded. **“And that is good,”** he greeted.

One of the Daleks rolled forwards. **“That is incorrect.”**

And then another Dalek joined it. **“Daleks are supreme.”**

 **“No, not anymore,”** Dalek Sec disagreed.

 **“But that is our purpose,”** the second Dalek protested.

Dalek Sec shook his head. **“Then our purpose is wrong! Where has our quest for supremacy led us? To this. Hiding in the sewers on a primitive world. Just four of us left. If we do not change now then we deserve extinction.”**

The Doctor frowned and crossed his arms. “So you want to change everything that makes a Dalek a Dalek,” he said slowly.

 **“If…you and Kayla can help me,”** Dalek Sec agreed.


	15. Evolution of the Daleks Pt. 2

The Doctor and Kayla stared at Dalek Sec, the Dalek/human hybrid that had just told them the entire Dalek plan and was asking them to help make it so that Daleks were not Daleks.

_‘I can’t have read that right,’_ the Doctor said mentally, his arms crossing as he ran through the entire conversation again. Perhaps he had missed the major signs of this being a trap.

Kayla just blinked and also ran through the conversation. As a former Time Agent, she knew set-ups well. Whatever Dalek Sec was doing, it wasn’t a set-up. _‘No, you heard him right,’_ she corrected the Doctor.

Somehow sensing their discomfort, Dalek Sec spoke up, snapping the two to attention. **“Your knowledge of genetic engineering is even greater than ours. The new race must be ready by the time the solar flare erupts,”** the Dalek/human hybrid explained.

The Doctor shook his head, still not really following. “But you’re the template. I thought they were getting a dose of you,” he pointed out.

**“I want to change the gene sequence,”** Dalek Sec agreed.

Kayla frowned. “To what? Make them even more human?”

Dalek Sec nodded. **“Humans are the great survivors. We need that ability.”**

The Doctor held up a finger, a rather horrible thought occurring to him. “Hold on a minute. There’s no way this lot are gonna let you do it,” he pointed out while gesturing towards the Daleks nearby, who just moments ago had spoken up and protested the plan Dalek Sec was doing.

The Dalek/human hybrid blinked. **“I am their leader,”** he pointed out simply.

Moving subtly so that Kayla was behind him, should the Daleks fire, the Doctor turned around to face the other Daleks. “Oh, and that’s enough for you, is it?” he asked them loudly, half-expecting one of them to kill him for just talking to them.

**“Daleks must follow orders,”** One Dalek replied promptly.

**“Dalek Sec commands, we obey,”** the other Dalek agreed.

The Doctor turned around and looked over at Dalek Sec, his brow furrowing. _‘Should we do it?’_ he asked Kayla. _‘Should we really help the Daleks?’_

_‘This is a chance to stop Daleks from killing more people…like my father.’_ Very slowly, Kayla reached out and took the Doctor’s hand and gave it a squeeze. _‘I say we should.’_

The Doctor nodded and squeezed back.

**“If you two don’t help me…nothing will change,”** Dalek Sec practically pleaded.

“There’s no room on Earth for another race of people,” the Doctor pointed out warningly, though he had truly already decided on the matter.

**“You have your TARDIS. Take us across the stars. Find us a new home and allow the new Daleks to start again,”** Dalek Sec said.

The Doctor nodded. “When’s the solar flare?”

**“Eleven minutes,”** Dalek Sec informed him promptly.

The Doctor grinned, which made Kayla roll her eyes. “Right then. Better get to work,” he said with a clap of his hands.

* * *

Having moved to a small lab near the chamber they had been in, the Doctor had gotten Dalek Sec to spread out the papers, which the Dalek/human hybrid had done promptly. Staring down at them, he frowned at the equipment and readouts the Daleks had done.

“There’s no point in chromosomal grafting. It’s too erratic. You need to split the genome and force the Dalek-human sequence right into the cortex,” the Doctor informed Dalek Sec.

Dalek Sec nodded. **“We need more chromatin solution,”** he agreed.

A Dalek came rolling in. **“The pig slaves have it,”** it announced. Behind it, the pig-men were carrying a rather heavy looking crate which they set down with a thud before wandering off.

Kayla, feeling her heart thud at the idea of being turned into a simple slave for something as horrible as a Dalek, frowned and turned towards Dalek Sec. “What happens to the pig slaves once you’ve finished your plan?”

Dalek Sec blinked at the question and then shrugged. **“Nothing. They’re just simple beasts. Their lifespan is limited. None survive beyond a few weeks.”** The Dalek/human hybrid turned away to order the engine feeds on, giving Kayla time to send a quick message to the Doctor.

_‘Is there anything we can do about the pig-men? Perhaps make their death more humane?’_

The Doctor frowned and looked up at her. _‘No, there isn’t. When I scanned the pig-man in the sewers, it showed me that everything the Daleks did is irreversible.’_

_‘That’s…horrible,’_ Kayla closed her eyes and snapped the connection shut, making the Doctor look over at her with worry in his eyes. Knowing in his hearts that she wanted to be alone then, he went back to his work.

* * *

It was only a few minutes until the solar flare was going to strike that a Dalek announced, **“The line feeds are ready.”**

The Doctor instantly rushed over to the tubes that were the line feeds and started to extract the liquid from them.

“Then it’s all systems go,” the Doctor said, spinning around to show Kayla and Dalek Sec the syringe filled with the liquid.

Kayla grinned, though it was strained. She was beginning to become worried about how long it had taken to ready the line feeds and just the general way the Daleks were watching the Doctor and Kayla move.

**“The solar flare is imminent. The radiation…will reach Earth in a matter of minutes,”** Dalek Sec warned, making Kayla pull out of her thoughts and look over to the Doctor for his reply.

“We’ll be ready for it.” Turning back around, he inserted the solution from the syringe into the main feeding tube and stepped back to admire his handing work. Grinning widely, he turned and called over to the pig-men and Dalek, “That compound will allow the gene bonds to reconfigure in a brand new pattern. Power up!”

Two pig-men turned on the power switch and Dalek Sec ordered, **“Start…the line feeds,”** which made a Dalek start the machinery.

Going over to the Doctor and taking his hand, Kayla watched along with the Time Lord and the Dalek/human as the solution started to go through the feeding tubes.

“There goes the gene solution,” the Doctor said as he pointed out to Kayla.

Dalek Sec nodded next to him. **“The life blood,”** he agreed as the solution started to travel into the bodies that the Daleks had collected.

Proud of his work, the Doctor went over and sat down to wait. Seeing room, Kayla sat down next to him and leaned in. Normally she would have closed her eyes, but she didn’t feel quite safe enough to do so. Instead, she just stared blankly at the wall as she waited for everything to work.

But that was not what happened. A sound, an alarm of sorts, started to blare through the labs along with red flashing lights. Kayla winced at the noise and covered her ears, which did little to muffle out the noise, yet it was something.

Following the Doctor with her eyes, Kayla felt the flash of panic go through his mind. Dropping her hands she hurried over to him next to the controls. “What’s going on?!” she called over the alarm.

“The gene feed! They’re overriding the gene feed!” the Doctor yelled back.

Kayla’s eyes widened. There was no need to specify _who_ was overriding the gene feed, they all knew who that was, even Dalek Sec. In fact, the Dalek/human hybrid seemed disgusted by this news. **“Impossible. They cannot disobey orders,”** he tried to reason.

In answer, two Daleks glided up behind the Doctor and Kayla, making the Time Lord mover her behind him, pressing her back against the controls to block her from any attack that the Daleks would make.

**“The Doctor and Kayla will step away from the controls,”** one Dalek ordered, its weapon steadily on the Time Lord. Holding up his hands, the Doctor moved away from the controls and Kayla followed him.

**“Stop! You will not fire,”** Dalek Sec ordered the two rouge Daleks.

In response, the Dalek that had spoken swiveled its eye stalk to stare directly at its once leader. **“He is an enemy of the Daleks.”**

**“And so are you,”** the other Dalek put in.

_‘Kayla. They’re going to try and kill you. But I need you to run. Get up to the top of the Empire State Building. Martha should be there.’_

Kayla buried her face into the Doctor shoulder and hugged him from the back. _‘We will both get out of this,’_ she informed him, even as she felt a tear slide down her cheek from the pure fear of it all.

The Doctor nodded. _‘Run!’_

And Kayla did. She had been a Time Agent for a long time, and Time Agents knew how to get out of problems, no matter how bad the problem was. Granted, Daleks were not what she had trained for, but they were similar enough to other creatures. Rolling out from behind the Doctor, she pushed the pig-man that had come to grab him away from her. Hearing a Dalek swivel around she scrambled her feet and ran fast, making sure to tip over a table to create some sort of space between her back and the Daleks’ gun. The lift, which had already been summoned by the Doctor’s screwdriver, dinged open and she went inside of it. Leaning against the railing in the elevator, she closed her eyes and focused on her breathing as the elevator kept climbing up.

_‘Doctor, how’s it going?’_ she called to the Time Lord.

_‘I found Lazlo!’_

_‘Who?’_

_‘That show girl’s boyfriend.’_

And then, with a cheery ding, the door opened and Kayla was greeted by the sight of Martha and Frank.

“Kayla?” Martha gasped, her eyes widening.

Kayla stepped out of the elevator and watched as the doors closed before she turned around and hugged Martha. “I never thought I’d see you again,” she breathed.

Martha laughed slightly, but it was hollow. “That bad?” she asked, pulling away from the Time Lady.

Kayla rubbed her stomach slightly and then nodded. “That bad. The Doctor’s coming up any second-“

The door dinged and Kayla whirled around to see the Doctor and a pig-man who looked more man then pig step out of the elevator.

“Doctor!” Hurrying towards him, Kayla hugged him tightly and then kissed him.

The Doctor grinned and wrapped his arms around her in return before he kissed back. “Kayla,” he said in a much calmer voice.

Lazlo stepped out behind him and nodded at Martha, which made the woman blink. “Doctor?” she asked slowly.

The Doctor pulled away from Kayla, though that was with a groan through their link, and then, realizing what Martha was question, wrapped an arm around Lazlo’s shoulders. “Martha. Lazlo. Lazlo. Martha,” he said quickly. “And Lazlo. Frank,” he added as an afterthought with a slight shrug.

The elevator behind them dinged, making the Doctor pull away and pull open the panel. Sonicing it, he kicked the wall, which made Kayla wince, for the screwdriver had not worked, marking a deadlock seal.

“Where’s it going?” Martha asked, a frown forming.

Kayla sighed. “Straight down to the Daleks, which means we will not be alone much longer,” she warned.

Martha blinked and her mouth made a small ‘o’ of surprise. “Oh,” she said in a higher voice than usual.

The Doctor pointed at Frank. “Right then. What’s the time?”

Frank looked taken aback but took a watch out to answer, “11:15.”

The Doctor nodded. “Six minutes to go. I’ve got to remove the Dalekanium before the gamma radiation hits.”

“If I asked would I be able to follow?” Martha asked in a low voice to Kayla.

“I haven’t,” she said with a shrug, which made the black woman grin.

The two women hurried after the Doctor and a surprised Frank, who had wandered outside to see what had to be done. At the sight of not only how high up they were but the city, the Doctor’s eyes widened. “Oh, that’s high. That’s very-- Blimey, that’s high,” he remarked.

Martha nodded and then pointed up even _higher_ up the building. “And we’ve got to go even higher. That’s the mast up there, look. There’s three pieces of Dalekanium at the base. We’ve got to get ‘em off.”

The Doctor turned around and quickly shook his head. “That’s not ‘we.’ That’s just me,” he corrected with a stern look not just to Martha but Kayla as well.

Martha huffed. “I won’t just stand here and watch you.”

Kayla shook her head and placed a hand on Martha’s shoulder, making the women turn to her. “Martha,” she started in a low voice, “what the Doctor is _rather badly_ asking of you, is will you please protect me from the swarm of pig-men and maybe Daleks that are going to come up in that elevator?”

The Doctor nodded, though there was a slight pout on his face at being corrected. “Exactly,” he agreed.

Martha nodded slowly. “Alright then.”

* * *

“The lift is coming up,” Kayla warned. She was standing over to the side, watching the numbers on the elevator as Frank and Martha worked.

They had realized that no matter what, lightening was going to hit the pole the Doctor was currently climbing up. With Lazlo, the pig-man, watching him, it left the trio little option but to improvise. They were currently hooking up long metal rods to the elevator with the hope that it would fry the pigs. Kayla had made sure that the rods weren’t touching the floor and so far, everything seemed to be going well.

In fact, Kayla had decided to not pull Martha aside, as she was going to do, and wait to tell her about _Hamlet_ being _Hamnet_ until they got back to the TARDIS.

“Done!” Martha cheered.

Frank grinned and stepped back from his work. Holding out a hand, he helped Martha up and the two surveyed what they had done. “Is that gonna work?” Frank had to ask. “I mean, I’ve got it all piped up to the scaffolding outside, but…” his voice trailed off and he shook his head.

“It’s going to work,” Kayla promised.

Martha nodded and then squeezed Frank’s hand. “Come here, Frank and sit in the middle and don’t touch anything metal,” she instructed while leading him over to the spot.

Kayla quickly backed up to the corner, facing away in the hope to keep her child safe.

And then…the lightning struck the tower that the Doctor was still on. Kayla could feel the effect the electricity was having on the Doctor’s body, as she clenched her own hands into fists to keep quiet. But the plan that they had set up worked. The lightning went through the metal rods and hit the pig-men, causing them to fall, dead.

Once the charge was gone from the room, Kayla turned away with a cry of “Doctor!” Running out to the rain-slicked floor, she knelt beside the Doctor. He had fallen from the mast and had landed on his back. As anyone would be after a fall and an electrical charge, he was unconscious.

Martha gasped behind Kayla but was soon next to the brunette and offering the sonic screwdriver. “I nearly tripped on this,” she explained.

Kayla nodded and took the screwdriver before going back to watching the Doctor’s face. She watched as his eyes fluttered open and he sat up a bit, his hand going to the back of his head. “Oh my head,” he groaned.

Kayla took his other hand and squeezed it tightly. “It’s okay. No rush,” she told him soothingly.

“Actually…” Martha’s voice trailed off, causing the two to look at her. “I can’t help noticing….there’s Dalekanium still attached.”

Kayla looked back at the Doctor, who was suddenly trying to scramble to his feet. Getting up, she helped him up as well and wrapped an arm around his waist, supporting him as he looked up at the tower. Just as Martha had said, the Dalekanium, the metal from the Daleks’ own casing, was still attached to the tower.

“There plan…it worked,” the Doctor breathed with a shake of his head. “The Daleks will have gone straight to a war footing. They’ll be using the sewers, spreading their soldiers out underneath Manhattan.”

Kayla let out a whoosh of breath. “That’s….that’s really not good,” she remarked, and the Doctor nodded.

Her eyes widening, Martha shook her head. “But we can stop them, right?” she protested. Throughout her brief travels with the Doctor and Kayla, she had seen them survive _everything._ This had to be no different.

Thinking, the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. “There’s only one chance. I got in the way. That gamma strike went zapping though me first.”

“But what does that mean?” Martha pushed.

The Doctor waved a hand at her. “We need to draw fire. Before they can attack New York, I need to face them. Think, think, think, think. We need some sort of space, somewhere safe, somewhere out of the way. Lazlo!” Shouting the name at the end, making the pig-man jump, the Doctor pointed at him.

“Yes?” he asked slowly.

“The theater. I know you used to work there. Can you get us in?”

Kayla grinned, her eyes widening at what the Doctor was planning. “That’s right! The theater, it’s above where they would be in the sewers.”

Lazlo blinked and then nodded. “I think so, it’s just after midnight so Tallulah wouldn’t see me.”

The Doctor nodded and then whirled around to look at Martha. “Is there another lift?”

Martha paused and then grinned. “We came up in the service elevator.”

“Perfect,” Kayla kissed the Doctor on the cheek.

The Doctor smiled and hugged her tightly. “Allons-y!”

* * *

Having snuck into the theater, which was dark as it was the middle of the night, the Doctor switched on his sonic screwdriver as he got to work. Realizing that there was no chance that he was going to say anything else to the others, Kayla turned to Lazlo, Martha, and Frank. “Thanks,” she said to the pig-man.

In response, the pig-man nodded…and then fell back into a chair. Martha and Frank rushed over. “Lazlo! I’m an _actual_ doctor. What’s wrong?” Martha asked him urgently as she checked his temperature. “He’s burning up,” she remarked softly to Frank and Kayla, making the boy take a small step back while Kayla frowned.

“It’s just so hot,” Lazlo panted.

Martha frowned and looked over at Kayla. “What’s happening to him?”

“He’s a slave to the Daleks,” Kayla pointed out with a shake of her head. “They weren’t meant to survive for so long.”

Martha gasped. “Is there any way we can stop it?” she asked.

Kayla shook her head. “The Daleks never made a reversal.”

Martha frowned and turned to the Doctor, who was being oddly quiet only to see the Time Lord listening intently to his sonic screwdriver. “What are you doing?”

“If the Daleks are going to war, they’ll wanna find their number one enemy. I’m just telling them where I am.” Having found the correct frequency, the Doctor held up his sonic screwdriver and turned it on. After a few moments, he turned it off and pointed at Martha. “Martha, take Lazlo and go with Frank back to Hooverville.”

Martha shook her head. “I’m not going,” she replied stubbornly.

The Doctor glared at her. “I’m telling you to go. Frank can take you back to Hooverville.”

“And I’m telling you I’m not going.”

“Martha, it wasn’t a request,” Kayla said softly. “It was a direct order. Unless you never want to travel in the TARDIS again, then you will follow it and get yourself to safety with Frank and Lazlo in Hooverville!”

Martha took a step back and even the Doctor looked rather surprise. He had never really seen Kayla get so worked up over something like this. But a brief tap into her head made him draw her closer. He could instantly feel her anger at how Martha was reacting to the Doctor trying to keep her safe and could feel the headache forming from lack of sleep. Her emotions were running high and Martha just kept pushing them. Of course, he did feel bad for Martha because how Kayla had snapped at the end…that was pretty harsh.

But then, Martha retorted, “And who are you for yelling and ordering about? Some kind of Dalek?”

The Doctor glared at Martha and half-shielded Kayla away from her, even when the black woman showed a face of pure regret at saying that. Instead, he snarled, “How dare you!” Before he continue, which he dearly wanted to, the door to the theater banged open, causing the group to turn around to see the mass of humans with Dalek DNA standing, with guns, standing in the doorway.

“Humans…with Dalek DNA,” Martha gasped, her eyes widening as she stared at the group of them.

Frank hurried forwards, preparing to fight them, but the Doctor held his arm out, holding him back. “It’s all right. Just stay calm. Don’t antagonize them,” he warned.

“But what about the Dalek masters? Where are they?” Lazlo asked in a labored voice.

In answer, an explosion occurred on the stage, causing the Doctor, Kayla, Martha, Frank, and Lazlo to duck behind the seats in front of them for cover. As the smoke cleared, causing the Doctor to cough lightly, the Time Lord peered up over the seats to see two Daleks leading a chained up Dalek Sec, who was crawling, onto the stage. His eyes widening, the Doctor got to his feet while everyone peered over the chairs to see what he was going to do.

**“The Doctor will stand before the Daleks,”** one of the Daleks ordered.

Stepping over the chairs, the Doctor walked all the way until he was in the front row, right in front of the Daleks.

**“You will die, Doctor. It is the beginning of a new age,”** the other Dalek informed him.

**“Planet Earth will become New Skaro,”** the first Dalek added in.

The Doctor shook his head. “Oh, and what a world. With anything just the slightest bit different ground into the dirt. That’s Dalek Sec. Don’t you remember? The cleverest Dalek ever and look what you’ve done to him. Is that your new empire? Hmm? Is that the foundation for a whole new civilization?”

**“My Daleks…just understand this. If you choose death and destruction, then death and destruction will choose you,”** Dalek Sec warned from the floor.

One of the Dalek’s eyestalks looked down at him. **“Incorrect. We will always survive.”**

**“Now we will destroy our greatest enemy, the Doctor,”** the other Dalek cried out.

Dalek Sec shook his head. **“But he can help you.”**

**“The Doctor must die,”** the Dalek informed Dalek Sec.

Dalek Sec started to crawl in front of the Dalek. **“No, I beg you, don’t,”** he protested.

Ignoring him, a Dalek pointed its gun at the Doctor. **“Exterminate!”** It yelled just as Dalek Sec got to his feet. The shot hit him in the chest, making him fall to the ground, dead.

The Doctor glared at the Daleks, a snarl on his face. “Your own leader. The only creature who might have led you out of the darkness and you destroyed him.” Shaking his head, he turned and waved at the humans with Dalek DNA. “Do you see what they did? Huh? You see what a Dalek really is?” Turning away, he glared at the Daleks once more. “If I’m gonna die, let’s give the new boys a shot. What do you think, eh? The Dalek-Humans. Their first blood. Go on, baptize them.”

Kayla let out a gasp and started to get to her feet, but a quick look and a shake of his head from the Doctor made the brunette stop and stay crouched, even as the Doctor held his arms out while a Dalek cried out, **“Dalek-Humans, take aim.”**

Following the order, the Dalek-humans took aim, and the Doctor called to them, “What are you waiting for? Give the command!”

**“Exterminate!”** the Dalek cried out, causing Martha to turn to Frank and hug him, burying her face into his chest and Kayla closed her eyes, a tear nearly leaking out…but nothing happened. **“Exterminate!”**

When nothing happened again, the Dalek yelled at the Dalek-human, **“Obey. Dalek-Humans will obey.”**

Kayla stared at the Doctor, her eyes wide open as she realized that he, and she, were still alive. “Did it work?” she breathed.

The Doctor grinned and nodded. “It did,” he replied.

Not picking up that something was very wrong, one of the Daleks ordered, **“You will obey. Exterminate.”**

“Why?” a man spoke up, causing the Doctor to look over at him with a wide, knowing smile.

**“Daleks do not question orders,”** the Dalek informed him.

“But…why?” the man questioned once more.

**“You must not question,”** the Dalek ordered.

The man shook his head. “But you are not our master. And we…we are not Daleks.”

Smiling, the Doctor cut in. “No, you’re not, and you never will be,” he informed the others and then turned to the Daleks. “Sorry, I got in the way of the lightning strike. Time Lord DNA got all mixed up. Just that little bit of freedom.”

The Dalek sent a look towards the Doctor. **“If they will not obey, then they must die.”** And with that, the Dalek started to shoot at the man who had spoken, killing him.

“Get down!” the Doctor yelled as he ducked down behind the chairs. In the back row, Kayla, Martha, Frank, and Lazlo did as well. All of them stayed down as both groups, Dalek-humans and Daleks, fired on each other.

**“Exterminate! Exterminate! Exterminate!”** the two Daleks cried out as they killed the group of Dalek-humans, but a few got in some good shots and with a cut off scream, one of the Daleks died and then, just like its brother, the other Dalek died as well.

As the shots died down, the Doctor went over to the Dalek-humans and Kayla joined him, the brunette holding him. “It’s all right. It’s all right. It’s all right. You did it. You’re free,” the Doctor said, a soft smile on his face.

Suddenly, the group that were still alive gripped their heads in obvious agony and screamed. “No!” Kayla cried out.

The Doctor shook his head and pulled Kayla closer to him, hugging her as the Dalek-humans crumbled to the ground. “They can’t! They can’t! They can’t!” Kayla repeated into the Doctor’s chest while the Time Lord stroked her hair.

Martha hurried over and knelt by one of the bodies. “What happened? What was that?”

“They killed ‘em. Rather than let them live. An entire species. Genocide,” the Doctor explained in a rough voice.

Lazlo shook his head. “Only two of the Daleks have been destroyed. One of the Dalek masters must still be alive.”

Pulling back from Kayla, the Doctor’s face hardened and he glared at the hole that the Daleks had created. “Oh, yes. In the whole universe, just one.”

* * *

The night had been a long one for the trio of time travelers. The Doctor had gone to confront the remaining Dalek, which turned out to be Dalek Caan, but it had transported out, leaving him alone. Then, Lazlo had died. He had tried, and so had Kayla, but the pig-man, without having Tallulah there to support him, he felt as if he had nothing to live for. He passed away in his sleep, leaving Frank to bow his head and make a grave. He promised to speak to Tallulah for them, tell her how Lazlo had died and how he was hero and had never left her.

But now it was morning, as morning always came, and the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha stood with Frank on Liberty Island, the place where the TARDIS had landed.

“Thank you, Frank,” the Doctor said while shaking the man’s hand.

Frank nodded. “Thank you, Doctor.”

Kayla took the Doctor’s hand and then leaned in to the Time Lord’s chest. “What are you going to do now?”

Frank shrugged. “Do what Solomon would do, I guess. Run Hooverville like he would until things turn for the better.”

Martha grinned and hugged Frank. “You’ll be amazing,” she vowed.

As she pulled away, the Doctor and Kayla stepped into the TARDIS, leaving Martha to say her goodbyes to Frank in private. After a few moments, Martha came in, blushing, and sat down in the chair in the console room.

“Alright, what now?” she asked.

Kayla and the Doctor exchanged a look and Kayla nodded with a sigh. Turning to Martha, she crossed her arms. “Martha…there’s something I have to tell you. Something about William Shakespeare.”


	16. Interlude 4

Things had not gone how Kayla or the Doctor had thought they would. After Kayla had decided to be honest with Martha, the doctor-in-training that was their latest companion, the Doctor had gone to their room and grabbed the only copy of Shakespeare they had kept. The reason why they had no other works, why they had gotten rid of them, was because when they had gone back in time and met Shakespeare, a stray comment from Martha as well as her digging through the letters that Shakespeare’s wife had sent had changed one of Shakespeare more famous plays, _Hamlet,_ to _Hamnet._ If it had only been the title, then Kayla would have felt okay about telling Martha, though in a calm and soothing way as to not startle the girl, but it was more than that. The plot had changed as well, leaving out the entire subplot of the mother. The Doctor hadn’t really been worried, and that should have been a sign to Kayla that it was all be okay, but the pregnancy had messed with her hormones and her brain and she thought that the best way to deal with the change was to hide it from Martha.

And then, when Kayla had decided to tell Martha what had happened, the black woman had not taken it well. Not well at all. She had yelled, had pointed out she would have been able to handle it if they had told her the truth, and then she had turned to the Doctor and told him to take her home, to take her home right _now._

Kayla had pleaded, had begged the woman to rethink her choice. She promised that there would be no more lies, but Martha had said that she couldn’t handle it anymore. The Doctor lying to her about his planet and now Kayla lying to her about Shakespeare…it had to end. So Martha Jones had left the TARDIS, leaving Kayla and the Doctor to travel alone.

It had been a bit over a month for Kayla and the Doctor. The Time Lady was still pregnant, about 16 weeks along, but looked well over that, over 30 weeks. The Doctor had been running scans on her, now that Martha was gone, and he had said that everything was going well, that things were going great, but in actually, he was lying through his teeth. He couldn’t get a reading on what species their child was. He knew that, at the time the baby had been conceived, she was barely human, really a Time Lady, but now that he was having trouble he was worried, terrified really, that the baby was part human. There had never been a part Time Lord – part human child, and he had _no idea_ what that would mean. Until he knew for certain, he was waiting on telling Kayla. If it was nothing then he wouldn’t tell her because worrying her was just stupid, but if it was actually something, then he would tell her and they would discuss what to do next.

Still, just to be safe, he had decided to see if Martha Jones would rejoin them on the TARDIS. Kayla had been skeptical of his reasons by citing that him and her traveling by themselves wasn’t a good idea, but she had agreed easily enough. She missed Martha and felt horrible for lying to her, so if he knew a way to get to come back in the TARDIS with them, then she was very, very happy.

He had told Kayla that he would go alone and she had agreed to that less easily, but once she had given her consent, he had piloted the TARDIS to Marth’s flat and walked out of it. He expected to see the black woman sitting on the couch or something. He hadn’t expected her to not be in. Not wanting to pilot further and risk something, he had sat on the couch himself, in the flat, waiting for her to arrive.

* * *

Three hours later, Martha arrived from what appeared to be a stressful day of work. Not looking over at the TV or the couch, she had walked into the flat and gone straight to the kitchen. Grabbing a frozen dinner from the fridge, she warmed it up in the microwave and walked from the kitchen to the couch and sat down….

“Hello,” the Doctor greeted, figuring that being straightforward would be the best way to deal with saying hello to the old companion.

Martha screamed, the plate falling to the ground as she shot to her feet. “What the hell are you doing here?!”

The Doctor got to his feet as well and held up his hands. “I need you, Martha Jones.”

Martha blinked at him. “You what?”

“I need you, Martha. Kayla needs you,” the Doctor explained. “Our kid, we need an expert.”

Martha shook her head. “You guys lied to me. Why should I do anything to help you two?”

“It’s our kid, Martha.”

Sighing, Martha nodded and looked over at the TARDIS. “How did I not notice that?” she wondered, motioning to the blue box.

The Doctor shrugged. “You were stressed?”

Martha nodded. “Yeah, my sister has some sort of thing tonight. Enlisted me to help since I quit my job.”

“You quit your job?” the Doctor asked, while mentally asking Kayla to get the med-bay, which the brunette was going to from the console room.

“Yeah. I just…it didn’t seem like all there was in life was working in a hospital. I wanted to help others more.”

The Doctor grinned. “Marth Jones, helping others even when on Earth,” he remarked. “I think that’s brilliant.” Turning away, though not before he saw Martha’s pleased expression, the Doctor opened the door to the TARDIS and walked in, Martha following.

“She’s in the med-bay,” he called back to the black woman, making her nod. “I should warn you, it has been longer for us than you.”

Martha frowned. “How much longer?” she asked. In answer, the Doctor moved to the side, allowing Martha to be able to see Kayla, who was sitting on one of the beds. “Oh.”

Kayla got up and walked over to Martha, a hand on her stomach, which was large. “I know,” she laughed, “16 weeks and pushing 30.” The brunette gave Martha a sad, sad smile. “I’m so sorry,” she apologized, “for everything, but especially for the lying. You’re an amazing woman, you truly are. If you don’t ever want to travel with us, I understand. But thank you so much for doing this.”

For a long moment, Martha tilted her head and just studied Kayla, but then she sighed. “I’ve missed this,” she admitted, “I’ve missed it a lot. Maybe…maybe we could try again?”

Kayla beamed and hugged Martha tightly, making the woman grin and hug her back. For a moment, they hugged, but then Martha pulled away. “Alright, now let’s look at that baby.”

Setting Kayla up on the bed, Martha quickly set up the scans the Doctor pointed out to her and placed a hand on the brunette’s stomach. “So have you felt it moving yet?” she asked.

Kayla nodded. She had quickly tapped the Doctor with tears going down her face as about two weeks ago, she had felt the baby move inside of her. The Doctor had placed a hand on her stomach, felt some of the movement too, and had beamed and also started crying.

Martha grinned. “That’s good,” she commented. Turning to one the scans, she frowned slightly at the results, making the Doctor stiffen.

“What?” he asked quickly. “What’s wrong?”

Martha crossed her arms. “The stomach is harder than it usually would be and it’s messing with the scans.”

The Doctor frowned. “But this is Gallifreyan. It’s made to work through these problems.”

“Well maybe this baby is just more special,” Martha replied.

On the bed, Kayla’s eyes widened. “Could it be because I used to be human?”

The Doctor turned to Kayla and took her hand and squeezed it. “It’s going to be alright,” he soothed. He had felt the tension and the worry through the mental bond and he didn’t want Kayla to get stressed out.

Kayla gave the Doctor a grateful smile. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Martha ran another scan, just to be sure but it still came up as it had before, inconclusive. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “But I can’t tell if the baby is human or Time Lord or both.”

Kayla slowly got up, the Doctor helping her, “It’s fine,” Kayla promised. “You did your best. Perhaps it’s best if we don’t know.”

The Doctor nodded and grinned at Martha. “So, it’s late. I’ll just pilot the TARDIS into the vortex-“

Martha shook her head. “I can’t. I have to help my sister with a party.” She frowned. “It’s going to be so boring. And this guy, he’s creepy. He says that he’s ‘going to change what it means to be human.’ Whatever that means.”

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Would you mind if we went? That sounds…”

Martha shrugged. “Sure. At least something interesting might happen.”

Grinning, the Doctor wrapped an arm around Kayla’s waist, “You wanna go?”

Kayla rolled her eyes. “Do you honestly have to ask? Let me go get dressed.”

“Mind if I tag along? I don’t have a good dress.”

“Sure.”

As Kayla led Martha to the wardrobe, the Doctor leaned against the tree in the console room until Kayla called to him mentally. _‘Get dressed! That suit won’t work. It’s black tie.’_

The Doctor pouted. _‘Fine,’_ he huffed, and then stalked off to go get dressed as well.


	17. Lazarus Experiment Pt. 1

It was the night of the party that Martha Jones, the companion of the Doctor and Kayla, had helped her sister’s job set up. After accepting Kayla’s apology, Martha felt happier than she had in the two weeks she hadn’t been with them. At first, she had been so angry at the woman and the Doctor. They had both lied to her and being lied to twice neatly in a row just made her feel taken advantage of. She had ordered the Doctor to take her home, and he had. But, with Kayla hitting her 16 week mark of her pregnancy and the last time she had had an actual doctor, not the bumbling Time Lord Doctor, was when she was 8 weeks. So when the Doctor had come to her, had begged her to help, Martha had. She was a doctor-in-training, of course she would help! The hadn’t really found out the problem, unfortunately for Kayla, they really only had guesses as to why the baby’s species wasn’t showing up on the scanner. But Martha had decided to continue to travel with the couple. She would have joined them immediately if she hadn’t had to do the party.

Looking at herself in the mirror of the TARDIS wardrobe, Martha shook herself out of her thoughts and looked at her outfit. She was just wearing a dark purple dress and black heels, nothing too special. The TARDIS had so many amazing clothes and she had so wanted to dress up in some them, but she knew her mother would mention something. Ever since the divorce started, she had become a bit more judgmental at times. Martha knew it was just the stress of it getting to her, but that still didn’t mean the comments didn’t hurt.

Turning away from the mirror, Martha looked over at where Kayla had disappeared. The former human, now Time Lady, appeared very pregnant. She looked about 30 weeks when she was only 16. That had to just suck, especially when it came to clothes. Kayla had said that the TARDIS wardrobe had a maternity section, but she was taking a long time. A worryingly long time, really.

About to go in to find her, the Doctor would probably kick her out if she told him that his Bonded had gotten lost in his wardrobe while she was just standing there, Martha breathed a sigh of relief as the clothes moved aside and Kayla emerged. The woman was wearing a black dress that had slight sheer sides and a dip in the back. She was wearing simple black flats for shoes and her brown hair was done up in an elegant bun.

“Sorry it took me so long,” she apologized. “The TARDIS moved the maternity clothes to the back,” she shook her head. “Maybe she thinks I need to lose weight.” Placing a hand on her stomach, Kayla shrugged. “ _I_ feel like I need to lose weight.”

Martha placed her hands on Kayla’s shoulder and gave her a smile. She had known a few pregnant woman, some as their doctor and some as their friend. Both always felt completely bloated and huge while pregnant. Granted Kayla technically shouldn’t be so big from human standards, but if the Doctor was to be believed she was doing great. So Martha placed her best reassuring smile on. “It’s alright,” she told her. “I think you look great.”

Kayla laughed. “You think?” she asked, clearly touched by the other woman’s words.

Martha nodded. “Of course!”

Giving her a soft smile, Kayla gingerly hugged the black woman. “Thank you,” she breathed.

Martha hugged back briefly and then pulled away. “Come on. The Doctor is out there in my flat and I don’t trust him to not ruin it.”

Kayla laughed. “I haven’t felt any flash of panic so I’m sure that nothing is broken.”

* * *

Thankfully, nothing _was_ broken in the flat, except for the Doctor. As soon as he saw Kayla, his mouth fell open and he just stared at her. After about two minutes of this staring, Kayla went over and kissed him, which definitely fixed the Doctor. He stammered for a few moments about how nice Martha looked, not wanting the black woman to feel as if she was being left out, but it was obvious he had eyes only for Kayla.

Those eyes continued to stay on Kayla even as they started to walk to Lazarus Laboratories, which was close enough for the trio to just walk there and not take the TARDIS or a taxi. The Doctor, who had dressed up in a black suit with a matching black bowtie, fiddled with said bowtie as Kayla walked along next to him, one hand on her stomach and the other holding the Doctor’s. Martha walked slightly to the left and behind them.

Giving up on the bowtie, the Doctor started to fiddle with the cuffs of his white dress shirt, making Kayla roll her eyes. “It honestly can’t be that uncomfortable,” she pointed out.

The Doctor shook his head. “It’s not that. It’s _black tie._ Whenever I wear this, something bad always happens.”

Martha laughed behind them. “That’s not the suit, Doctor. That’s just _you.”_

The Doctor pouted, which made Kayla nudged him. “Don’t worry, I think it suits you. Very James Bond.”

“James Bond? Really?” the Doctor asked, brightening considerably.

Kayla grinned and squeezed his hand. “Of course. James Bond is very you. Suave and British and running around all the time having no clue what to do until the women around him help him.”

Having been nodding at everything Kayla was saying, he could definitely see himself as being suave and British, started to nod at the last thing Kayla had said because he was always running around when it actually hit him that the last bit hadn’t been a compliment and he pouted. “Hey!” he protested while Kayla and Martha just laughed.

* * *

Once the trio was inside, the Doctor instantly spied a moving tray of food and grinned. “Oh, look, they’ve got nibbles! I love nibbles!” he cheered. His eyes were only on the food as he took a few and then handed it to Kayla, a small grin on his face. “You’re hungry. Eat.”

Kayla smiled and took one and started to nibble on it as she took in the room. It was large and a sterile white. What really took over the space was what appeared to be a large white round cabinet that was surrounded by four pillars that had a slight curve at the top of them. Around them, people mingled and spoke. Kayla’s smile shifted slightly and she took a deep breath. Her hand went to her stomach and she felt her jaw clench. She had been to so many different parties as a Time Agent, either to kill someone or to try and recruit someone. She always felt so stiff and awkward and everything was forced and she always wanted to go home.

Noting her thoughts, the Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and gave Kayla a light kiss on the cheek. “You have _me_ with you this time. We’ll be so busy saving the world you’ll have no time to get bored.”

Kayla smiled at him. “Thanks,” she said sincerely. Feeling a slight tinge in her eyes, a sign that she was close to crying, she frowned and closed her eyes. “Stupid hormones.”

The Doctor laughed lightly and kissed Kayla gently. “I’ve heard it gets better,” he commented.

“Oh! There she is.” At Martha’s sudden exclamation, Kayla and the Doctor turned to see the black woman smiling broadly as a girl who was clearly her sister, Tish, came over with a huge smile on her face.

“Martha,” she greeted warmly and then hugged the woman.

Martha laughed and hugged her back. “Tish,” she replied in kind.

Tish pulled back and smiled at her sister. “I’m so glad you could make it. After all the help you gave…I think it’s impressive. What do you think?”

Martha nodded. “Very. Though I do have to take credit. I have special awesome powers.”

Tish rolled her eyes and shook her head. “You’re becoming very social, which is very dangerous for you.”

Martha laughed. “If I keep this up, I’ll end up in all the gossip columns.”

Tish smiled, but it was short lived as she looked around. “You might, actually. Keep an eye out for photographers. And Mum—she’s coming too, even dragging Leo along with her.”

“Leo in black tie? That I must see,” Martha said with a shake of her head.

Seeming to only _now_ notice the Doctor and Kayla, who had been watching the conversation and waiting patiently for it to end so the three of them could figure out what the large white cabinet was, Tish looked over at Martha with a raised eyebrow.

Martha sighed. She had originally said she was coming alone, but since she was back with traveling with the Doctor and Kayla and they had come with her, she would have to make up some sort of excuse. “This is, uh, the Doctor and his wife, Kayla,” she introduced.

Tish frowned. “Are they with you?” she asked, checking a clipboard she had.

Martha nodded, ready for Tish to point out her original plan. “Yeah,” she agreed.

Her sister didn’t focus on that, however. Instead, she said with frown, “They’re not on the list. How did they get in?”

Martha blinked. “Plus one and two?” she tried with a shrug.

Seeing that Martha was struggling and he was honestly very suspicious about that cabinet, the Doctor came over a bit, Kayla following, and cut into the conversation. “So, this Lazarus bloke, he’s your boss?”

Tish blinked at the question but nodded all the same. “Professor Lazarus, yes. I’m part of his executive staff. I’m head of the PR department. I put this whole thing together.”

The Doctor nodded, though he really was not interested in Tish’s job. “So do you know what the professor’s going to be doing tonight? That looks like it might be a sonic microfield manipulator.”

Tish rolled her eyes. “He’s a science geek. I should’ve known,” she remarked with an odd look to Kayla, which made the Doctor grow defensive and step in front of her. Ignoring them, Tish turned to Martha. “Gotta get back to work now. I’ll catch up with you later.” And then Tish was off to mingle.

The Doctor looked over at Kayla, who waved a hand at him. “I’m fine,” she promised him softly.

Nodding, the Doctor turned to Martha, a slight frown on his face. “Science geek? What does that mean?”

“That your obsessively enthusiastic about it,” Martha replied with a pat on the Doctor’s arm.

He nodded. “Oh, nice,” he said with a grin to Kayla, who couldn’t help but return it. “I’m a science geek.”

Martha suddenly waved a hand at them, causing the two to pause and look over at her. “My mum’s coming over,” she warned with a hiss. She did this not a moment too soon as an older black woman that was Martha’s mother came over with a twenty-something year old boy who looked bored and uncomfortable in his suit. “Martha,” the woman greeted.

Martha grinned and gave her a small hug. “Good to see you,” she replied back. Turning to the boy, she smiled broadly at his obvious discomfort, which made him pout slightly. “You’re looking good, Leo,” she commented.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Yeah. If anyone asks me to fetch ‘em a drink, I’ll swing for him,” he offered.

Martha’s mother, noticing the Doctor and Kayla far quicker than her other daughter had, took them in for a moment before looking back at her daughter. “Who are they?”

Martha blinked at the question and took a moment to answer. “These are two friends of mine, the Doctor and his wife, Kayla.”

Martha’s mother frowned. “Doctor what?”

“No, it’s just the Doctor,” Martha said with a shake of her head. “The three of us have been doing some work together.”

Kayla nodded. “Martha’s helping me prep for the baby,” she supplied with a small pat on her stomach.

Martha’s mother softened considerably at this and she gave Martha a small smile. “Is she now?” she asked.

“Yep,” the Doctor nodded. “And my I just say it’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Jones.” Leaning forwards, the Doctor shook her hand and then Leo’s with Kayla following him in the handshaking. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Martha’s mother’s eyes widened a bit and she looked over at Martha, who looked pained at what the Doctor had just said. Arching an eyebrow, she turned back to the man. “Have you? What have you heard, then?”

“Oh, you know, that you’re Martha’s mother and…um…No, actually, that’s…that’s about it. We haven’t had much time to chat, you know, been busy.” Next to the stuttering Doctor, Kayla shook her head with a small laugh.

“You’ll have to excuse my…husband, he’s a bit odd,” Kayla said with a pleasant smile that seemed to relax Martha’s mother.

It was then, before they could continue their conversation, someone tapped on a glass to signal that an announcement was going to be made. Around the group, conversations died down after promises of continuation in them were made and soon, everyone was looking up the stairs at the platform where an elderly gentleman, Lazarus, was speaking.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I am Professor Richard Lazarus and tonight I’m going to perform a miracle. It is, I believe, the most important advance since Rutherford split the atom, the biggest leap since Armstrong stood on the moon. Tonight, you will watch and wonder. Tomorrow, you’ll awake to a world which will be changed forever.”

And with that announcement, Lazarus stepped into the cabinet and shut the door. Two female technicians started flutter about a complicated set of consoles, which were controlling the cabinet. Suddenly, one of the consoles sparked and the technician sprung back from it. The Doctor, who had been watching the proceedings with a growing amount of concern, sprinted to the consoles.

“We need to help him!” Kayla called over to Martha as she quickly started to jog after the Time Lord. Nodding, Martha quickly followed and the two women joined the Doctor, who was fiddling with the controls.

“Something’s wrong. It’s overloading,” the Doctor explained as he aimed the sonic screwdriver at the controls.

A much older woman in a fancy dress hurried over. She was glaring at the Doctor and had a hard expression on her face. “Somebody stop him! Get him away from those controls!”

Kayla turned with a glare of her own that landed on the protesting woman. “Touch him and you will die before everyone else,” she threatened.

The woman took a horrified step back while Kayla just smirked and turned to face the Doctor in enough time to see him pull the main wire that controlled and was connected to the cabinet out. Instantly, he was sprinting over to the doors of said cabinet with Martha and Kayla following.

“Get it open!” the Doctor yelled over at Martha.

The black woman started to struggle with the doors and he quickly joined in after flash of a look to Kayla to remind her to _not_ help. The two opened the door and stepped back as a bit of smoke filtered out. The smoke was then followed by appearance of a man who was at least 40 years younger than Lazarus when he had originally stepped into the cabinet, but his clothes were exactly the same, even if they were more ruffled than before. He had striking blond hair and, when he reached up to touch his face, his eyes opened wide and he beamed as he felt the lack of wrinkles on it.

_‘Oh my god…that’s Lazarus,’_ Kayla said to the Doctor through their link. She had a better spot as she was in the front of the crowd directly in front of the doors while the Doctor and Martha were on the side.

Taking in the man fully, Kayla could feel the Doctor’s disgust and horror at the sight. _‘But it…it can’t be! What has this man done to himself?’_

Kayla’s brow pinched with concern even as the man, still in awe over his own actions, straightened and addressed everyone with, “Ladies and gentlemen, I am Richard Lazarus. I am 76 years old and I am reborn!”

As lights when off as photographers took pictures and people shoved their way to take a picture with the man, Kayla moved over to the side next to the Doctor and Martha. Instantly, the Doctor took her hand and she squeezed his. Next to him, Martha crossed her arms and shook her head. “It can’t be the same guy. It’s impossible. It must be a trick,” she protested.

Kayla shook her head. “It _isn’t._ He has the same clothes, same voice…hell even the same hair.”

“But those can all be faked,” Martha pointed out.

Kayla sighed. “Not like this.”

Next to the brunette, the Doctor nodded. “He just changed what it means to be human,” he stated in a hard voice. As there was truly nothing she could say to the Doctor that could make him feel any better, Kayla just squeezed his hand. And he squeezed back.

* * *

After the fear of what had happened earlier, everyone was eager to start the party. In less than no time, everyone was back to mingling with one another and Lazarus was fully invested in speaking to reporters and wealthy people who just had to be donors.

“We should talk to him,” the Doctor suggested, his eyes on the man. For someone who had been 76 years old only a few minutes ago, he was very active and very charismatic.

Kayla nodded, her eyes not on the man but on the woman she had threatened who was talking to him in a way that seemed to scream that she was his partner in a romantic sort of way as well. “Yeah,” she agreed.

Martha, who had been talking to her family in a soft voice and actively avoiding Tish, who had been glaring at her ever since the incident, came over to the Doctor and Kayla. “What are you guys talking about?” she asked.

“We need to go see Lazarus,” the Doctor replied firmly.

Martha blinked and then nodded. “Alright. Anyway I can get away from Tish. I swear, she’s going to kill me with her glaring.”

The Doctor grinned and took Kayla’s hand. “Come on,” he said to Martha.

The trio walked over to Lazarus and the older woman just in time to hear the woman say, “People will sell their souls to be transformed like that. And I’ll be first in line.” In response, Lazarus cracked his neck with a gasp of pain. Seeing a tray that was passing by, he started to shovel the hors d’oeuvres that were on the tray into his mouth with a frightening amount of speed. The woman gasped and hissed, “Richard!”

“I’m famished,” the man responded.

The Doctor frowned. Since the trio were right behind them, he spoke up and said, “Energy deficit. Always happens with this kind of process.”

Having finished the food, Lazarus turned around to address the Doctor. “You speak as if you see this every day, Mr—“

“Doctor, and this is my wife, Kayla,” the Time Lord introduced and Kayla waved at the man. “And, well, no, not every day, but I have some experience in this kind of transformation.”

Lazarus shook his head with a scoff. “That’s not possible,” he protested.

The Doctor just shrugged. “Using hypersonic sound waves to create a state of resonance. That’s—that’s inspired.”

“You understand the theory, then,” Lazarus noted.

The Doctor nodded. “Enough to know that you couldn’t possibly have allowed for all the variables.”

Lazarus shrugged. “No experiment is entirely without risk.”

Kayla frowned. “If it hadn’t been for my husband then you would have died,” she protested.

“You might as well have stepped into a blender,” the Doctor agreed.

The older woman next to the man sneered at the couple, though Kayla could detect a hint of fear in her gaze, which made her smirk. Evidently, she remembered her threat. Still, the woman hissed, “You’re not qualified to comment.”

The Doctor shot a harsh look to the woman. “If I hadn’t stopped it, it would have exploded,” he pointed out.

Next to him, Kayla nodded. “We all would have died,” she put in, one of her hands going to her stomach. The thought of her dying before she gave birth, her baby dying with her, made her just worry so much for her child, for what could happen.

Picking up on her thoughts, the Doctor wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to him. _‘It’s alright,’_ he said gently through their bond. _‘Nothing is exploding now.’_

Kayla sent him a small grin, which he returned.

Their moment, however, was ruined by Lazarus speaking up. “I must thank you, Doctor. But that’s a simple engineering issue. What happened inside the capsule was exactly what was supposed to happen. No more, no less.”

Martha, who had been so silent throughout the conversation, suddenly spoke up. “But you’ve no way of knowing that until you’ve run proper tests.”

Kayla looked over at the black woman and saw an expression of such disgust that she just had to grin. Martha was still the same humane woman, and she had truly forgotten how smart she was. The different perspective she brought to the Doctor and herself. Martha pointed out the humanity to them. While Kayla and the Doctor just saw a mad scientist who could possibly ruin the future of the human, and therefore the rest of time and space, Martha saw someone who had just changed what it meant to be truly human. Not in the sense that the Doctor was saying it, for he was a Time Lord and could see the ripples that this machine created, and so could Kayla, but Martha saw it as him de-aging himself and cheating something he had no right to cheat, which was death.

But Lazarus seemed to have not realized that, and the man just laughed at Martha, who bristled and crossed her arms. Already, the black woman was planning out ways to defend herself and to convince her sister that working for Lazarus was not a good idea. “Look at me! You can see what happened. I’m all the proof you need.”

“This device will be properly certified before we start to operate commercially,” the older woman added in a voice that sounded as if she was _pleased_ with the idea.

Martha took a step forwards, which the Time Lords quickly allowed by moving aside and having her more room to address the couple. This was something Martha, as human, had more right to do then they did. “Commercially?! You are joking. That’ll cause chaos,” she pointed out with a shake of her head.

“Not chaos. Change. A chance for humanity to evolve, to improve,” Lazarus defended.

Martha shook her head once more. “This is _not_ improvement for the human race, for _us._ This is just for you to make money off of desperate people who want to live a bit longer!”

“Not a little longer, Miss Jones. A lot longer. Perhaps indefinitely.”

Appearing as if he wanted to say more, to get into a true debate about his machine, the older woman touched his arm, which made him pause and turn to her. “Richard, we have things to discuss. Upstairs.” Not wanting for an answer, she turned and started to make her way through the crowd and then upstairs.

Lazarus sighed and turned back to Martha, the Doctor, and Kayla. “I do hope we can meet again, Miss Jones, and mysterious Doctor,” he said with a slight grin. “Perhaps in a few years we can all look back and laugh at how wrong you were.”

“I doubt it,” Martha muttered in a response.

Lazarus just shook his head and held out his hand. “Let’s not part on bad terms.”

Grinning ever so slightly, Martha shook his hand. “Goodbye Professor Lazarus. I hope you and Lady Thaw have a nice discussion.”

Lazarus shook her hand while making a face. “I hope so to,” he replied, and then, with a grin to the Doctor, which was not returned in the slightest, and a nod to Kayla, which was also not returned, Lazarus left to go up the stairs and join Lady Thaw.

The moment he was out of earshot, the group made a bit of a circle. “That old woman’s name is Lady _Thaw,”_ Kayla hissed, an expression of amusement on her face.

Martha nodded. “Lady Thaw, yes. Very rich and supplied all her money for Lazarus’ _project,”_ Martha explained with a bit of a sneer at the last word.

Kayla shook her head. “That is so ironic considering her…nature,” she pointed out with a small laugh.

The Doctor sent her a grin as he absent-mildly took her hand and rubbed the back of it. “She does seem a bit chilly,” he remarked.

Martha rolled her eyes, Lady Thaw truly wasn’t _that_ bad. “So what do we do now?” She asked.

With his free hand, for he was still rubbing the back of Kayla’s the Doctor tugged on his ear and then scratched the back of his neck. “Now…well, this building must be full of laboratories. I say we do our own tests,” he suggested with a grin.

Martha, however, smirked. “I was hoping you said that,” she admitted. “Because I just got a DNA sample.”

For a brief moment, the Doctor and Kayla stared at her, then Kayla took the wrist that Lazarus had shaken into her hand and beamed at the black woman. “Martha Jones, what would we ever do without you?”

Martha took her hand out of Kayla’s grasp and pointed at the door that led to the labs. “Come on. If we’re quick, then we won’t be seen by Tish.”

Taking Kayla’s hand, the two followed Martha, trying to blend in and move quickly though the crowd at the same time. Somehow, even though Kayla was much larger and took a bit more time and the Doctor was incredibly rude to everyone, they managed to not get caught by Tish’s sister or any other personnel and once they had gotten through the door that Martha had led them to, the brief walk into the labs was easy.

Once inside, the Doctor started to set up the DNA test with firm instructions to Martha about what to do during it so they would not get just Martha’s DNA and ruin the sample in the process. Thankfully that had not happened and when the DNA scan had finished, they were pleased to see **‘Richard Lazarus’** in large letters on the screen.

“I guess they’ve been testing his DNA,” Kayla noted with a slight frown.

The Doctor however, just stared at the DNA intently before he finally shook his head. “Amazing,” he reported.

“What?” Martha asked, moving over to look at the screen herself.

“I second that question,” Kayla said in agreement as she peered at the screen as well. To her the DNA looked normal.

Of course, the Doctor shook his head. “Lazarus’ DNA,” he remarked.

Martha and Kayla exchanged confused looks. “But nothing’s changed, it’s human,” Kayla pointed out.

“Look!” at the Doctor’s prompting, the two women looked back at the screen just in enough time to see the image _change_ and add onto the DNA, the new part highlighted in yellow.

“Oh my god,” Martha gasped, her eyes going wide.

“Doctor, what does this mean?” Kayla asked sharply, turning to the Time Lord.

“It’s impossible,” the Doctor started with a grin that Kayla would have returned had the situation not been so dire. “And that’s two impossible things we’ve seen tonight. Don’t you love it when that happens?”

Kayla sighed, “Focus, Doctor,” she prompted.

Martha nodded. “Lazarus has changed his own molecular patterns,” she pointed out, “What does that _mean?”_

The Doctor frowned, thinking it through. “Hypersonic sound waves to destabilize the cell structure then a mutagenic program to manipulate the coding in the protein strands. Basically, he hacked into his own genes and instructed them to rejuvenate.”

Kayla looked back over at the DNA which was still on the screen. “But they’re still changing.”

“‘Cause he missed something. Something in his DNA has been activated and won’t let him stabilize. Something that’s trying to change him,” the Doctor explained.

Kayla placed a hand on her stomach, a pit growing as she realized just how bad the situation they were in. “If whatever he’s changing into is dangerous, people could die,” she said in a whisper.

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lightly on the lips. “I’ll protect you,” he vowed.

There was a but hanging in the air in between them, though, and finally Kayla sighed. “Alright,” she agreed.

The Doctor gave her another kiss. “It’ll be alright.” Still holding her, he turned towards Martha, who was trying very hard to not look over at them and intrude on their private moment. “Martha, we need to go see Lazarus, see what he’s changing into,” he explained.

Martha frowned. “They said they were going upstairs,” she remembered.

Pulling back from Kayla but keeping contact with her by taking her hand, the Doctor nodded to Martha. “Let’s go, then,” he said aloud. Mentally, he soothed Kayla with a, _‘It’ll be alright.’_

Kayla just nodded jerkily and placed her free hand on her stomach. She grinned slightly as she felt the baby kick back. _‘I know,’_ she replied mentally. _‘You’ll be there.’_


	18. Lazarus Experiment Pt. 2

Martha pushed open the door to Lazarus’ office and turned on the lights. The Doctor and Kayla, the Time Lady with her hand on her stomach and the Time Lord with his arm around her as they followed the black woman. Martha knew where things were in the large building of Lazarus’ Labs, so the couple trusted her to lead them to the correct place.

“This is his office?” the Doctor asked as he stared around the room. It was definitely not _his_ taste in an office. There was a beautiful but grand wooden desk that seemed to almost glisten. Behind it were large, floor to window windows that showed the darken sky of nighttime London.

Martha nodded. “This is his office, all right,” she agreed.

Kayla placed a hand on her stomach and looked around the office. “He really knows how to decorate a place,” she commented with a slight frown. “But where is he?”

Martha shrugged, “Maybe we should go back and try re…” her voice trailing off, Martha started to intently walk over to the desk, her eyes firmly on the ground. “-ception,” she finished.

Kayla started to walk over as well as Martha gasped loudly. Her own eyes widened at the sight of a pair of stately, black heels sticking out from behind the desk. Seeing this in his own mind, the Doctor hurried over and wrapped an arm around her, trying to comfort her as they joined Martha and stared at what appeared to be a dehydrated body, a skeleton really, of Lady Thaw, the woman that Kayla had threatened when the machine was going wrong.

“Is that Lady Thaw?” Martha asked in a choked voice.

The Doctor nodded. “Used to be. Now it’s just a shell. Had all the life energy drained out. Like squeezing the juice out of an orange.”

“Doctor,” Kayla said in a soft voice. The Doctor instantly stopped talking and turned to kiss his Bonded.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized.

Martha shook her head. “Lazarus,” she all but growled.

“Probably,” Kayla agreed. “Which means he’s already started to change.”

The Doctor frowned. “The DNA was fluctuating,” he remembered. “The process must demand energy. This might not have been enough.”

Kayla paled at the thought and practically turned into the Doctor’s chest as she realized what he was saying. Martha’s eyes widened. “So he might do this again?”

Nodding, the Doctor and Kayla started to go to the lifts and Martha followed. The trio stepped into the lifts and went down. Had they stayed in the office longer, they wouldn’t have had to go down to the reception. But they didn’t, which meant they missed Lazarus and Tish stepping _out_ of the other elevator.

Having no way of knowing that Lazarus and Tish were upstairs in the office they had left, the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha looked around the classy party that was still going on. The trio walked through the crowd, Martha splitting off briefly to see if she could have any more luck than the Doctor and Kayla, who didn’t split up.

“I can’t see him,” Martha informed them when she returned to the Doctor and Kayla.

Kayla kept looking around, her eyes scanning the crowds that seemed to be fading together into one face that wasn’t Lazarus. Closing her eyes, she shook her head and turned to Martha. “Keep looking,” she instructed.

The Doctor nodded. “He can’t be far.”

The two wandered off for a brief moment, just long enough for Martha’s brother, Leo, to come over and talk to her. But then they returned to Martha just a moment before her mother did. “He was getting’ cosy with Tish a couple of minutes ago.” The Doctor and Kayla heard the black man said.

“With Tish?!” Martha cried out loudly, causing several people to titter around them.

Ignoring whatever conversation that she had come in on, Francine Jones, Martha’s mother, turned to the Doctor and Kayla. “Ah, Doctor and Kayla,” she greeted in a hard voice.

The two ignored her. “Where did they go?” Kayla asked urgently.

Leo frowned at the heavily pregnant woman. “Upstairs I think, why?” he asked with a shrug.

“Kayla-“ Francine started, but the Doctor and Kayla ignored her. Instead, the Time Lord, ever rude and not ginger, grabbed Kayla’s hand and gently pulled her with him up the stairs. His sudden movement, despite trying to keep his movements gentle to not jerk Kayla, knocked over Francine’s drink. “I’m speaking to you two!” the woman cried out with rage as they hurried off.

Martha quickly followed after them but paused to snap back at her mother, “Not now, Mum!”

Hurrying back to Lazarus’ office, Martha, the Doctor, and Kayla found it unsurprisingly empty.

“Where are they?” Martha snapped all the same.

The Doctor quickly took his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket and scanned the room. At the question look Martha sent him, he explained quickly, “Fluctuating DNA will give off an energy signature. I might be able to pick it up.” Holding the screwdriver out at arm’s length, he started to turn in a circle until the steady beeping that the screwdriver was emitting sped up.

“You got him,” Kayla breathed.

Martha frowned. “Where?”

Holding up the screwdriver, the Doctor aimed the sonic advice directly at the ceiling, causing the brunette to grow. “Of course. They’re on the roof,” she grumbled.

* * *

Having hurried up the stairs that led to the roof of the labs, the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla watched as Martha’s sister, Tish, studied the youthened Lazarus. The man himself was speaking a low voice with an expression of discomfort on his face. Seeing him crack his neck, the Doctor nodded to Martha to tell her that he was getting involved.

_‘Be careful,’_ Kayla warned through their mental link.

The Doctor nodded and slowly started forwards a bit as Lazarus recited, “There’s always something to surprise you. ‘Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act—‘”

Seeing a chance, the Doctor smoothly cut the man off and finished, “’Falls the shadow.’”

Cracking his neck a bit, Lazarus turned towards the Doctor with a smirk on his face. “So the mysterious Doctor knows his Eliot. I’m impressed,” he remarked.

Next to Lazarus, Tish frowned at her sister. “Martha, what are you doing here?”

“Tish, get away from him,” Martha instructed firmly.

Tish crossed her arms. “What? Don’t tell me what to do.” She protested.

Kayla sighed and shook her head. “Lazarus, you’ve defied the laws of nature,” she informed him.

The Doctor nodded. “I wouldn’t have thought you had time for poetry,” he agreed.

Lazarus just shrugged. “You were right, Doctor. One lifetime’s been too short for me to do everything I’d like. How much more would I get done in two or three or four?”

“It doesn’t work like that. Some people live more in 20 years than others do in 80. It’s not the time that mattes; it’s the person,” the Doctor pointed out with a firm note in his voice.

“But if it’s the right person, what a gift that would be,” Lazarus pointed out with a smile.

Kayla shook her head. “It’s a curse, that’s all it is. Look at what you’ve done to yourself.”

Lazarus glared at her. “Who are you two to judge me,” he snapped.

Growing more and more worried about her sister and how close she was to Lazarus, Martha called out to Tish, “Over here, Tish.”

Despite frowning deeply, Tish came over to Martha. “You have to spoil everything, don’t you? Every time I find someone nice, you have to go and find fault,” she protested. But behind her, Lazarus was starting to twitch uncontrollably. The Doctor quickly backed away and pulled Kayla behind him, instantly protecting his Bonded from the monster. Her eyes widening, Martha warned her sister, “Tish, he’s a monster!”

Tish frowned faintly. “I know the age thing’s a bit freaky, but it works for Catherine Zeta-Jones.” Hearing the growling that Lazarus was admitting from behind her, Tish turned around and stared in horror along with the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha as Lazarus started to change.

Growling throughout the entire time, though the noise was becoming less and less human and more and more monster like, Lazarus started to transform. He seemed to change into what appeared to be a cross between a human skeleton and a scorpion, only he was a dark, blood red color.

“Run!” the Doctor yelled. Grabbing Kayla’s hand, he started to run from off the roof and inside the labs. Behind them, Martha and Tish quickly followed, their heels clacking as they hurried inside the building. Turning to the door, the Doctor quickly soniced it to lock it.

“Are you okay?” Martha gasped out the question to her sister.

Tish stared at her sister with a wide-eyed expression. “I was gonna snog him,” she breathed.

Suddenly, the monster that was once Lazarus started to bang on the door that they had locked. The noise alerted the security system and over the PA an announcement started. “Security breach. Security breach. Security beach.”

Exchanging horrified looks, the Doctor quickly started to pull Kayla down the stairs along with him. Behind the couple, Martha and Tish hurried after them.

“What’s happening?” Martha asked. Despite having helped with setting up the party, she didn’t know everything about the labs, like Tish did as she worked for Lazarus.

Focusing on running down the stairs, it took a moment for Tish to respond, but she did. “Uh, an intrusion. It triggers a security lockdown. Kills most of the power. Stops the lifts. Seals the exits.”

Behind them, there was a large bang and the Doctor and Kayla hurried up. “He must be breaking through that door.”

“Come on, we’ve got more stairs!” Kayla called back to the two black women.

Hurrying down the stairs even more, the door that led from the roof crashed open, causing the Doctor and Kayla to hurry up even more.

“He’s inside!” Martha warned loudly but needlessly.

The Doctor growled to himself. “We haven’t got much time!” the Doctor yelled back at them.

Hurrying down the stairs, they burst into the reception which was a mass of confusion due to the alarm that was still going on.

“Is there another way out of here, Tish?” Kayla asked urgently, her voice slightly weaker than usual.

Tish shook her head. “There’s an exit in the corner, but it’ll be locked now.”

Taking out the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor threw it to Martha, who caught it with minimal fumbling. “Martha, setting 54. Hurry,” the Doctor ordered. Nodding quickly, Martha ran off to the door with Tish following to help out.

Grabbing Kayla’s hand, the Doctor pulled her as gently but quickly as he could to the stage where the machine that Lazarus had transformed in sat. Staring out at the crowd, the Doctor caught his breath for a moment. “Listen to me! Your people are in serious danger! You need to get out of here right now!”

A woman dressed in a fine outfit scoffed loudly. “Don’t be ridiculous. The biggest danger here is choking on an olive.”

Before Kayla could retort on behalf of the Doctor, as her glaring screamed that she would, the glass that surrounded the labs shattered onto the floor. Lazarus, still in the monster form, appeared on the landing above the lobby before he jumped down onto the floor. Everyone screamed in horror at the sight and the group of partier scattered and ran for the exits.

Thankfully, Martha and Tish were able to get the door open with the sonic screwdriver, and over the screaming Kayla could just make out Martha’s familiar voice yelling, “Over here! This way! Everyone downstairs now! Hurry!”

Turning away from the crowd to try and get Lazarus back, Kayla let out a strangled gasp as she saw the monster close in on the woman who had scoffed at the Doctor before. Hearing her, the Doctor turned to see what she was staring at and growled. “No! Get away from her!”

Ignoring her, Lazarus _sucked_ the woman dry, as he had done to Lady Thaw. Kayla turned away and swallowed hard. Rubbing her back, the Doctor suddenly cursed in Gallifreyan and yelled to Lazarus once more. “Lazarus! Leave them alone!” Kayla turned to see the monster started to close in on Francine and Leo, the latter barely coming to as he seemed to have been knocked out in some way

Hearing his yell, Martha hurried over to her brother and mother and with a bit of work, she helped them to safety. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief and yelled up at the monster. “What’s the point if you can’t control it? The mutation’s too strong. Killing those people won’t help you. You’re a fool, a vain old man who thought he could defy Nature. Only Nature got her own back, didn’t she? You’re a joke, Lazarus! A footnote in the history of failure!”

Seeing Lazarus’ face twist into pure rage, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand the two ran from the monster. They ran from the lobby and up through the hallways of the building. They ran so hard that Kayla felt her breath turn into slight wheezes. Sending a worried look to his Bonded, the Doctor pulled open a door that led to a service hall and made sure that Kayla hurried in before he followed and closed the door behind them. Despite this, Lazarus ended up behind them as the couple crept through the room filled with pipes.

“It’s no good, Doctor. You can’t stop me,” Lazarus hissed.

“Is that the same arrogance you had when you swore nothing had gone wrong with your device?” the Doctor called back, a smile forming as he heard his voice echo to the point that Lazarus would never be able to track them using it.

“The arrogance is yours. You can’t stand in the way of progress,” Lazarus retorted.

Kayla shook her head and placed a hand on her stomach. “You’ve been feeding on innocent people! _That’s_ progress to you? That’s delusional!”

If Kayla had been able to see the monster, she would have seen it roll his eyes. “It is a necessary sacrifice.”

“That’s not a decision you’re allowed to make!” Kayla yelled back at the monster.

Suddenly, the lights, which had been off all along and therefore allowed the couple to stay relatively hidden from Lazarus, turned. For a moment, the Doctor and Kayla didn’t move, didn’t breathe. They just stood there, hand in hand, until Lazarus called out, “Peek-a-boo.”

Very slowly, the Doctor and Kayla looked up at the ceiling to see Lazarus, in all his monster glory, staring down at them with a smirk on his face. “Oh no,” Kayla breathed.

Nodding, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and the two tore from the room.

* * *

Running from the monster, the Doctor and Kayla ended up in the labs of the Lazarus’ building. Fiddling with the battery of a light fixture until the wires were exposed, the Doctor nodded to Kayla who started to turn on all the gas jets with a cloth pressed against her nose for good measure.

_‘He’s coming. Get down!’_ At the sudden warning from the Doctor through their mental link, Kayla ducked under a table that was directly next to the one the Doctor went under. Briefly, their eyes met, but before either one could safely move to the other, Lazarus entered the labs.

“More hide-and-seek, Doctor and the lovely Kayla? How disappointing. Why don’t you two come out and face me?” he mocked while moving through the labs slowly.

Hearing the plan in his head, Kayla empathetically shook her head. _‘I have to,’_ the Doctor protested. _‘And when I run, you run._

Before Kayla had any time to protest, the Doctor got out from under the table and snapped at Lazarus, “Have you looked in the mirror lately?” he smirked almost evilly. “Why would I wanna face that, hmm?”

Making sure that Kayla met his eyes, he started for the door. Hearing the feet behind him, he glanced back briefly to see Kayla charging after him. “Come on then!” Kayla snapped as she grabbed his arm and pulled him with her. For being as heavily pregnant as she was, she was still able to move fast enough that she and the Doctor were able to clear the room and the Time Lord was able to blow it up with Lazarus still in the room as he had planned.

Still running, the Doctor and Kayla hurried down the hallway when suddenly the Doctor exhaled heavily as he literally ran into Martha, who had been running down the hallway towards them.

“Martha!” Kayla greeted a bit breathlessly.

Martha sent her a frown. “You shouldn’t be running,” she protested.

The Doctor sighed. “We wouldn’t be if there wasn’t a _monster_ chasing us,” he snapped.

Martha’s eyes widened and she suddenly held out the sonic screwdriver for the Doctor to take. “I thought you might need it.”

The Doctor and Kayla exchanged looks but Kayla took the screwdriver. “How did you-“

“I heard the explosion. Guessed it was him,” She explained with a jerk of her head in the Doctor’s directions.

The Doctor huffed. “I blasted Lazarus,” he explained.

Martha’s brow arched. “Did you kill him?”

There was a loud clattering noise that caused the Doctor to grab Kayla’s hand firmly and Kayla to curse under her breath. “I think he just annoyed him,” Kayla pointed out.

“Run!” the Doctor shouted. The couple hurried down the hallway that Martha had been running down and the black woman quickly followed. They ended up inside the reception hall once more. “What now? We’ve just gone ‘round in a circle!”

Lazarus suddenly burst into the room, causing the few people left behind to scream in horror. The Doctor and Kayla dashed towards the powered-down device that Lazarus had changed in. Martha quickly followed. Somehow, with the Doctor kneeling on the floor and Martha and Kayla pressed together like sardines, the three of them were _barely_ able to fit.

“Are we hiding?” Martha hissed.

Kayla shook her head, as the Doctor was on the ground and unable to really talk. “No he knows we’re in here. But he made this machine. He won’t destroy it, not even to get to us.”

“But we’re trapped!” Martha protested.

Kayla bit her lip and then nodded. “That’s a bit of a problem,” she agreed.

Martha frowned. “You mean you don’t have a plan?”

Kayla sighed. “It wasn’t my idea,” she muttered, which made the Doctor huff loudly somewhere by the two women’s knees. “But evidently, the plan was to get _inside.”_

“Then what?” Martha pushed.

“Well, then the Doctor will come up with another idea.”

Martha just shook her head. “In your own time, then,” she replied sarcastically.

There was suddenly a lot of shuffling at their knees which caused Martha and Kayla to look down at the Doctor, who was having a great deal of trouble getting something, probably his sonic screwdriver, out of his pocket.

“Hey!” Martha protested, growing annoyed at the feeling of the Doctor’s hand whacking her leg every few seconds.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry,” the Doctor apologized. Finally, he got the screwdriver out and grinned at it. “Here we are.”

Martha frowned down at the Time Lord. “What’re you gonna do with that?”

Kayla sighed, hearing the answer in her head. “Improvise.”

Popping open the panel on the floor, the Doctor started to fiddle around with the wiring inside of it. “I still don’t understand where that thing came from. Is it alien?”

The Doctor seemed to want to shake his head, but the space prevented him from it, so instead he answered, “No, for once it’s strictly human in origin.”

Even Kayla frowned at that. “How can it be human? It’s way to advance for its time.”

The Doctor shrugged lightly at this. “The energy field in this thing must have reactivated them. And it looks like the dormant genes in Lazarus’ DNA are becoming dominant.”

“So it’s a throwback,” Martha pointed out.

Kayla blinked at her. “Very good,” she praised.

From the floor of the machine, the Doctor nodded. “Some option that evolution rejected for you millions of years ago, but the potential is still there. Locked away in your genes, forgotten about until Lazarus unlocked it by mistake.”

“Like Pandora’s box,” Kayla elaborated lightly.

“Exactly,” the Doctor agreed, though his voice trailed off a bit at the end.

“Doctor…” Kayla said warningly, “You do realize I can see inside your head.”

The Doctor swallowed hard. “Right,” he said in a high-pitch voice. “I was just looking at your shoes…”

Kayla rolled her eyes while Martha seemed to choke briefly as she realized what the conversation the Doctor and Kayla were having was about. “Right,” Kayla muttered.

Going back to his work, the trio all froze when a blue light filled the machine.

“Doctor, Kayla, what’s happening?” Martha asked in a low voice.

Kayla was the one who answered. “He’s turned the machine on.”

Martha swallowed hard. “That’s not good, is it?”

The Doctor groaned softly on the floor. “Well, I was hoping it was gonna take him a little bit longer to work that out.”

The machine started to spin.

Kayla started to back against the wall and placed both hands over her stomach as if that would be able to protect the baby. Martha sent her a worried look. “I don’t want to hurry you, but—“

The Doctor practically growled. “I know, I know. Nearly done,” he all but snapped. He was truly trying to keep a level tone of voice because it wasn’t Martha’s fault, but they were still in danger and that meant he was very, very angry.

Martha swallowed hard and looked over at Kayla, knowing that speaking to the Doctor was next to impossible when he got like that. “Are you going to be okay?” she asked in a soft voice.

Kayla nodded, though her paler face showed the lie in her nonverbal answer. “We’re not going to end up like him,” she said in a surprisingly firm voice.

The Doctor nodded. “I’m trying to set the capsule to reflect energy rather than receive it.” Grabbing a wire, he grunted and groaned, “Just one more!” the wire snapping, the energy field that had building up in the machine and around the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha exited the machine and instead went out.

Kayla pushed open the door and stumbled out of the dreadful machine. The Doctor was right behind her and Martha followed. Instantly, the Doctor wrapped his arms around her and supported her while Martha leaned lightly against the machine.

“I thought we were gonna go through the blender then,” Martha gasped.

The Doctor gently nuzzled Kayla’s cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips. “Next time,” Kayla breathed, “if you’re going to reverse the polarity again, don’t take so long.”

The Doctor laughed lightly. “I promise, I’ll shorten the time.”

Martha started to walk over to Lazarus’ form and, after a brief moment where the Doctor and Kayla just looked at each other, the couple walked over and joined the black woman to look down at Lazarus’ body, naked and still.

“Oh God. He seems so…human again. It’s kind of pitiful.”

“’This is the way the world ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper,’” Kayla recited. The Doctor looked over at her with slight surprise on his face. “What? I know Elliot too.”

* * *

Medical services were already there by the time the Doctor, Martha, and Kayla exited the building. They had been lucky. Had they lingered inside longer, the trio would have been forced to give statements to the EMTs. But Kayla, and therefore the Doctor, had been very eager to leave the building, so they had ended up sitting on the steps that led up to the labs and just watched as the EMT’s went in and then came out with their body bag clearly full and on a gurney.

So tired were the Doctor and Kayla that they hardly look up at the sound of heels clattering towards them. But Martha did. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw the worried face of her sister, Tish, as she headed towards her with her mother and her brother behind her.

“She’s here. Oh, she’s all right,” Tish breathed as soon as she spotted her sister. Martha got up and the two hugged tightly.

Seeing Martha’s mother and feeling that it was only right to introduce himself, the Doctor popped to his feet and then helped Kayla up as well. “Ah, Mrs. Jones, we still haven’t finished out chat,” he greeted.

He was not expecting a stinging slap to be delivered to his face, nor was he expecting Francine Jones to hiss venomously, “I would slap you too but I don’t slap pregnant woman. But both of you keep away from my daughter.”

Having turned around to gape at her mother when she heard the slap, Martha gasped, “Mum, what are you doing?”

The Doctor, however, held his cheek lightly. Turning to Kayla, he kissed her cheek. She just shook her head. “All mothers. Every time,” she remarked, and then kissed him softly on the lips. “Except for _this_ mother.”

It seemed that Francine was not done and turned to her daughter. “He’s dangerous and so is she! I’ve been told things!”

Martha shook her head. “What are you talking about?”

Francine took her daughter by her shoulders and spoke to her intently. “Look around you! Nothing but death and destruction!”

“That isn’t their fault! He saved us, and so did she. They saved all of us!” Martha protested while firmly getting herself out of Francine’s grip.

“It was Tish who invited everyone to this thing in the first place. I’d say technically, it’s her fault,” Leo joked lightly. Rolling her eyes, Tish elbowed her brother in the side.

In the distance, there was loud and sudden crash that did _not_ sound good in the slightest. The Doctor and Kayla exchanged looks and started quickly towards the noise. The Doctor paused briefly to look at Martha, who nodded. She started to go after him, but Francine grabbed her arm. “Leave them,” she begged.

Shaking her head, Martha moved herself out of her mother’s grip and hurried after the Doctor. “Martha?” Tish called after her while taking a step forwards.

“Not you, too?”

Tish looked back at her grief-stricken mother. “Sorry,” she apologized and then she was off to join Martha, who had just arrived next to the Doctor and Kayla, who were surveying the ambulance, but the doors were open and the medics who had been inside were husks like Lady Thaw had been.

“Lazarus, back from the dead,” the Doctor stated, and then shook his head. “Should’ve known, really.” Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he started to search for Lazarus as he had done in the office before.

Kayla looked over at him, her hand on her stomach. “Where is he?”

The Doctor pointed the beeping sonic towards the large church. “That way. The church.”

“Cathedral. It’s Southwark Cathedral. He told me,” Tish corrected in a soft voice.

* * *

Having walked into Southwark Cathedral, something which Kayla was not happy about and the Doctor ended up carrying her shoes in one hand and pointing the sonic screwdriver ahead of him as he led a progression of his Bonded, Martha, and Tish behind him.

“Do you think he’s in here?” Martha asked in a low voice.

“If you were looking for sanctuary, where would you go?” Kayla replied.

The foursome moved through the empty cathedral and to the open space behind the alter underneath the bell tower. Suddenly, the Doctor put his sonic screwdriver down and moved himself in front of Kayla as his eyes rested on Lazarus, who was gasping with the red blanket from the ambulance wrapped around him.

“I came here before. A lifetime ago. I thought I was going to die then. In fact, I was sure of it. I sat there, just a child…the sound of planes and bombs outside,” the man panted.

Kayla swallowed hard as she recognized what he was talking about. “The Blitz,” she said in a hard voice.

“You’ve read about it?” Lazarus asked.

Kayla shook her head. “I was there, and so was my father.”

“And I was as well,” the Doctor put in while taking Kayla’s hand and squeezing it lightly to reassure her. Jack was still a touchy subject for them, as Kayla still missed him and the Doctor…the Doctor had his own sins about Jack he was planning on never sharing with his Bonded.

“You’re both too young,” Lazarus scoffed.

The Doctor grinned, though it was a dark one. “So are you.”

Lazarus started to laugh, but this mirth was short lived as he gasped in obvious pain as he started to fight against the mutation. “In the morning, the fires had died, and I was still alive. I swore I’d never face death like that again,” he explained in a weaker voice.

Giving a nod to Kayla, which she returned, the Doctor moved away from his pregnant Bonded and started to walk around Lazarus slowly. Very directly, he looked up at the bell tower and then looked down at Lazarus.

“So defenseless. I would arm myself, fight back, defeat it,” Lazarus explained, his back tensing as he tried to hold back the transformation.

The Doctor frowned, the reason why Lazarus was telling this story dawning on him. “That’s what you were trying to do today.”

Lazarus shook his head almost violently. “That’s what I did today,” he corrected.

Practically feeling Kayla tense as if he was right next to her, the Doctor mentally ordered her not to speak and instead said the words the Time Lady was itching to say. “What about the other people who died?”

“They were nothing. I changed the course of history.”

The Doctor glared at Lazarus, a spick feeling growing in his stomach at the words he had said. “Any of them might have done, too. You think history’s only made with equations? Facing death is part of being human. You can’t change that.”

“No, Doctor. Avoiding death. That’s being human. It’s our strongest impulse, to cling to life with every fiber of being. I’m doing what everyone before me has tried to do. I’ve simply been more…successful,” and then, as if to deny _what_ he had just said, Lazarus groaned painfully as his body tried to change once more.

The Doctor arched an eyebrow at Lazarus. “Look at yourself! You’re mutating! You’ve no control over it! You call that a success?”

Lazarus bit his lip, trying not to groan. “I call it progress. I’m more now that I was. More than just an ordinary human.”

“There’s no such thing as an ordinary human,” the Doctor pointed out.

_‘He’s going to change in any minute,’_ Kayla warned through the mental link, her eyes firmly fixed on the twitching man.

The Doctor looked over at her. _‘I know. I need to get him up bell tower somehow.’_

_‘Up the bell tower?’_ Kayla asked, her eyes flicking up at the tower. She bit her lip at the height of it. If the Doctor were to fall, then…she shivered at the darker thoughts invading her head.

“You’re so sentimental, Doctor. Maybe you are older than you look,” Lazarus said suddenly.

“I’m old enough to know that a longer life isn’t always a better one. In the end, you just get tired. Tired of the struggle. Tired of losing everyone that matters to you. Tried of watching everything turn to dust.” His voice growing softer as he spoke, the Doctor squatted down next to the mutating man. “If you live long enough, Lazarus, the only certainty left is that you end up alone.”

“That’s a price worth paying,” the man replied.

The Time Lord shook his head. “Is it?” he asked simply. “Because once you have someone…someone you love, you will _never_ be able to live without them.”

_‘You won’t have to, Doctor,’_ Kayla vowed. _‘I am your Bonded. My place is by your side.’_

The Doctor beamed at this, but the smile quickly slid off his face when Lazarus bit out, “I will feed soon.”

“I’m not gonna let that happen,” the Doctor stated instantly, a hard note growing in his voice as his mind went to the very pregnant Bonded right behind him.

Lazarus smirked up at him. “You’ve not been able to stop me so far.”

Suddenly, Martha moved up so that she was behind Lazarus. “Leave him, Lazarus! He’s old and bitter. Thought you had a taste for fresher meat.”

“Martha, no!” Kayla called out, her eyes widening in horror.

Lazarus snarled at Martha. “Why not just take the slow pregnant one?” he murmured.

Martha snorted. “She’s just as old and bitter. Trust me, it’s _me_ you want.”

Assessing this for a moment, Lazarus snarled louder than before. His body tensing, he started to run after Martha, who had wisely started to flee. Not one to leave her sister behind, Tish ran after her sister. The two women led Lazarus to the stairs and started to sprint up them. They could not pause, for behind them an unearthly scream sounded that signaled that Lazarus was no longer human.

Trying to figure out where their progress was, the Doctor and Kayla peered up at the tower. Finally, Kayla yelled up, “Martha! Where are you?!”

After a second that felt like an eternity, Martha peered out of an archway on the upper level. “Kayla! Doctor!”

“Take him to the top, the very top of the bell tower, d’you hear me?!” the Doctor yelled up at Martha.

Martha nodded. “Up to the top!” There was a pause where she looked down the corridor she had been running down and then she looked back down at the Time Lord and Lady. “Then what?” Before they could reply, Martha disappeared to presumably keep running from Lazarus.

For a moment, the Doctor and Kayla exchanged looks. Kayla kissed him lightly and then the two hurried off to the large pipe organ that was, of course, in the cathedral. The Doctor pulled out the bench for Kayla and the two sat down on the bench.

“Hypersonic sound waves. Inspired,” the Doctor said with a nudge to Kayla as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver. Kayla just grinned as the Doctor jammed the screwdriver into a slot in the organ. Together, the Doctor and Kayla started to pull out all the stops on the pipe organ.

Right when they were done pulling out all the stops, they heard screaming from above. The Doctor looked up only to hear one of the girls _scream._ Kayla inhaled sharply at the noise.

“I hope it’s good acoustic in here,” the Doctor breathed. Nodding to Kayla, who covered her ears, the Doctor started to pound on the organ…only for nothing to come out. There was more screaming up above and when the two looked up, they both saw Martha clinging to the edge of the top of the clock tower.

The Doctor started to play more and more frantically on the organ, but it just didn’t work the way he needed it to. Growling in frustration, the Doctor took the sonic screwdriver back out of the organ and fiddled with it. “We need to turn this up to 11.” Putting the device back into the slot, he started to play once more. This, time, thankfully, it worked.

Martha continued to hold on for dear life on the edge of the tower as the sound waves echoed up to the bell tower. Suddenly, Lazarus, now in human form, toppled over the edge of the bell tower and fell onto the ground.

Hearing the thud, the Doctor stopped playing and looked over at Lazarus. He was dead, and this time for real.

Breathing in relief, Kayla got up and started to try her best to get to the top of the bell tower, but the Doctor quickly wrapped his arms around her waist, stopping her from going. “Look!” he ordered sternly in her ear. Kayla looked up and let out a small, half-sob of relief at the sight of Martha getting pulled up by her sister.

Turning her around in his arms, the Doctor kissed her on the lips, the two just so grateful that they were okay, that they had survived.

After a moment, Kayla pulled back and whispered, “Lazarus.”

The Doctor pouted. “What?”

“We need to check to see that he’s still alive.”

Huffing, which made Kayla smile involuntarily, pulled back and took the Doctor’s hand. The two walked over, far too happy, and went over to look down at Lazarus’ body. The Doctor knelt beside him briefly and closed his eyes. As if this action was a cue, Lazarus’ body started to wither until it was his original age.

At the sound of Martha’s familiar laugh and Tish’s voice, the Doctor took Kayla’s hand and the two hurried over to the stairs just in time for Martha to step off the last step. Martha beamed at the two and hugged both of them tightly, one after the other.

“I didn’t know you two could play?” she laughed.

Kayla shrugged. “I’m better at playing the flute, piano is no different.”

The Doctor also shrugged. “If you hang around with Beethoven, you’re bound to pick a few things up.”

Martha rolled her eyes, used to the Doctor casually mentioning famous names like Beethoven, but Tish wasn’t so she looked over at her sister with wide eyes. Waving off her clear concern for the Doctor’s mental state, Martha just joked, “Hmm, especially about playing loud.”

As if he hadn’t heard her, the Doctor leaned forwards a bit. “Sorry?” he asked.

* * *

The trio stood in front of the TARDIS, which was still parked in the corner of Martha’s flat. The Doctor wrapped his arm around Kayla’s waist and grinned at Martha. “Yet another thing that escalated,” he noted.

Martha rolled her eyes. “Seems to be a habit with you two. We’ll just have to take more care in the future,” she paused slightly. “And the past, and whatever other time period we find ourselves in,” she added.

“It’s good fun, though,” Kayla pointed out with a smile.

Martha nodded. “It is,” she agreed. “It certainly is.”

There was a slight pause, and then the Doctor beamed and opened the TARDIS door. “Alright then, back to the TARDIS.”

Martha stepped into the TARDIS and then paused to look back at the Doctor and Kayla. “Back to the TARDIS,” she whispered to herself.


	19. Interlude 5

Kayla sat with Martha at the kitchen in the TARDIS. She had respectfully asked the Doctor to leave and he had. She had then gotten the TARDIS to make the room soundproof and she had blocked off her mind. Perhaps it was overkill, but she didn’t want the Doctor hearing her talk to Martha, because she knew the black woman would get angry and if Martha said some hurtful things then the Doctor would be angry at her for saying that, even if Kayla deserved it as she knew she did. From her past experiences, Time Lords seemed to not taking insults to their Bonded well. Since that wasn’t fair to Martha at all, she was going to make sure the Doctor would have no way of knowing what was going on in the kitchen.

Martha, for her part, seemed relatively calm, though the tea she was sipping in a very control manner gave away the tension she was feeling. Her legs were crossed, one over the other. Her foot was tapping up and down in the air and due to the flip flops she was wearing there was slight sound as the heel of the shoe moved from the heel of her foot and then went back.

They sat like that, Martha drinking her tea in an almost robotic way and Kayla staring down at the table, one hand absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. It was an uncomfortable silence that neither woman wanted to break but, at the same time, they both wanted it to be gone.

Finally, Kayla spoke. “Martha I’m so incredibly sorry.”

Martha arched an eyebrow. “For what?” she asked in an icy voice.

Kayla swallowed hard. She had hoped so badly that this would go well, that Martha would forgive her. She had so easily forgiven the Doctor, or at least it seemed that way. They had had an equally private conversation that had lasted all of ten minutes. Kayla had asked to just know how it went generally, and the Doctor had said that it “Went well.”

Though when Kayla had asked if she had come up, the Doctor went silent. He changed the subject quickly and the brunette had enough brain to not bring it up again. Despite being a Time Lady, she still didn’t know much about Time Lord culture or how they acted with their Bonded. She knew that when she had been insulted by Rose the Doctor wasn’t able to forgive her, no matter how many times the blonde had apologized to him or her, though maybe that was because Rose usually hadn’t meant those many apologizes. Perhaps Martha, who the Doctor also liked quite a bit and was a far more sensible person, it would be different. She hoped so.

Still, Martha was sitting across from Kayla and whatever the brunette hoped or wanted, she still had to answer. No musings would save her from the present.

“For everything,” she breathed, and Martha’s foot stilled for the first time since they had sat down. “For convincing the Doctor to lie to you about Shakespeare, for going at such lengths to hide it from you, for going along with the Doctor’s lie…for just being a complete and utter idiot.” Kayla sighed and looked down at the table in front of her as she tried to control her emotions. “Can you ever forgive me, Martha?” she asked in a thicker voice than usual.

Martha seemed to just look at Kayla for a long time. Another long, tense, and very uncomfortable silence filled the TARDIS kitchen. The black woman seemed deep in thought. Her tea cup, which was now completely empty, was resting on the table in front of her, forgotten. Once again, her foot was moving. Kayla had started to fiddle with her dress as rubbing her stomach stopped being soothing enough.

Finally, Martha sighed. “When I was growing up, my parent fought a lot. They still fight a lot,” she shook her head and smiled bitterly. “After every fight, my dad would bring my mom some flowers and take her out to dinner and they would forget all their troubles, until the next fight that is.” Martha shook her head. “It took me a while to realize that apologizes only meant something when the person changed their behavior or at least tried to show that they were changing. Otherwise, the apology was just words that were flowered to make both parties feel nice.

“What I’m trying to say, Kayla, is that I want to forgive you, and I most likely will, but I’m withholding my forgiveness until I see that you’re changing, that you are no longer lying.”

Kayla stared at Martha, her eyes wide. This was not what she had been expecting at all. She had hoped that Martha would just forgive her. That hadn’t happen. Part of her felt stupid, part of her felt angry, but for the most part, she just felt completely out of control. Martha had been in control of the conversation since Kayla had closed her mouth, and the brunette wasn’t going to get that control back for quite a while.

Swallowing hard, Kayla nodded. She honestly had no choice at this point because she wanted the relationship with Martha to work. She wanted to be friends with her. “I’ll do my best to earn your forgiveness, Martha Jones,” she vowed in a firm voice.

Martha smiled slightly. “That is all I ask.”

* * *

Later that night, the Doctor found Kayla sitting on the edge of the TARDIS. Her legs were dangling out into space and her eyes were looking at the sky. Not saying a word, the Time Lord sat down next to her and took her hand. Kayla turned her head slightly and gave him a smile that was a clear ‘thank you.’ They stayed like that for a long time. Finally, Kayla fell to sleep with her head on the Doctor’s shoulder. He carefully picked her up and carried her to bed.


	20. 42 Pt. 1

It had been a few days after the conversation between Martha and Kayla. The brunette was careful around her, thinking through her words so many times that she felt like she was scripting everything. But so far, Martha hadn’t forgiven her, not that Kayla had expected her. She, in her opinion, hadn’t done anything to earn that forgiveness. The most she had done so far was suggesting to the Doctor that he should give Martha a chip for her phone so that she could call people even when traveling with them.

The Doctor, who was clearly uncomfortable with how Kayla and Martha were treating each other, jumped onto the suggestion and started to ramble to Martha about all the great things phone had been, were, and would be used for. Martha was nodding along and clearly not following _at all._ “Okay, remember, guys. This is a prison bubble designed by Bill. We've got to prepare ourselves for what we find in here,” the Time Lord finished. Casually, he threw the phone to Martha and she caught it and looked it over.

“No way! But it’s...too mad! You’re telling me I can call anyone, anywhere in Space and Time on my mobile?!” Martha questioned, her eyes wide as she looked up.

Seeing that the Doctor was busy pushing buttons on the console, Kayla took the opportunity to respond. “As long as you know the area code, you should be good.” Martha looked over at her, seeming to be stunned to hear her speaking. Kayla just shrugged. “Go on, try it,” she pressed with what she hoped was a nice, friendly smile.

Martha frowned slightly and turned away to dial her number when, without any warning from the TARDIS, the space ship shook violently. The Time Lord quickly wrapped his arms around Kayla while grabbing onto one of the coral-like branches in the console room. Martha was not so lucky and let out a little shriek as she fell to the ground.

Making sure that Kayla was holding on tightly, the Doctor made his way to the console and started to run around like a completely madmen. “Distress signal! Locking on!” the Doctor shouted, which was very good for Kayla because one look at his mind made her feel a huge headache growing at how quickly it was going. Somehow, he was able to function with all those thoughts in his head, and Kayla figured that she would never be able to understand how this was possible.

Unware of the brunette thoughts, the Doctor used his foot to activate a switch on the console. “Might be a bit of…” he started to warn only to cut himself off as another shake sent him and Martha flying and Kayla to nearly join them on the ground. But thankfully, this also seemed to be the end to the shaking and the Doctor jumped to his feet in the sudden stillness. “Turbulence,” he finished with a grin. “Sorry!”

Already wanting to go out of the TARDIS, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and started to tug on it until she allowed him to pull her after hi with a sigh. The two started towards the door of the TARDIS and, over his shoulder, the Doctor called casually, “Come on Martha! Let’s take a look!”

Hearing the black woman get to her feet with a huff, the Doctor grinned and pushed open the door. He and Kayla stepped out and, after few moments, Martha followed him as well. The trio looked around at where they had landed.

The TARDIS was sitting in some sort of engine room…a very hot engine room. The air itself seemed to be glowing red with the extreme heat. The Doctor shook his head. “Whoa! Now that is hot!” he exclaimed, though he didn’t sound nearly as displeased as Kayla felt he should.

Martha nodded. “Whoa! It’s like a sauna in here!” the black woman agreed. She took off her jacket and wrapped it around her waist with a small shrug.

Kayla, seeing that that was a good idea, rolled up the sleeves of the dress she was wearing as much as she could. At least her dress was made out of a light material. If it was any heavier she surely would pass out. It was seriously that hot!

Her musings were cut short by the Doctor’s hand leaving hers. She looked up to see the Time Lord wandering over to the equipment and examining it critically. “Venting systems. Working at full pelt. Trying to cool down…” he noted with a slight frown. Straightening up, he turned towards a heavy –duty door that was closed. “Well! If you can’t stand the heat…”

Moving back to Kayla, the Doctor took her hand and the two headed to the door with Martha in tow. The door opened automatically, which saved them from touching the metal. “That’s much better,” Kayla remarked.

The trio started to walk forwards a bit only to be practically run into by two men and woman. Eyes widening, the Doctor grabbed Kayla protectively while looking behind them to see another woman running towards them from the opposite direction. The entire group looked very hot.

“Oi! You two!” One of the men cried out.

“Get out of there!!!” The woman was coming from the opposite direction ordered.

The man who had cried out pointed at the door the trio was lingering near. “Seal that door! Now!”

Stunned, confused, and protective, the Doctor moved Kayla behind him. Martha, just as confused, stepped closer to them. Seeing their chance, the two men sealed the door and the woman who had been behind them stepped in front of them and crossed her arms with a frown. “Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?” she asked accusingly.

“Are you police?” One of the men asked, causing Kayla to narrow her eyes. Usually when someone asked if someone was police then that meant they were hiding something.

Kayla frowned. “Why would we be police?” she asked carefully.

Martha shrugged. “We got your distress signal.”

The Doctor was thinking of something else entirely. “If this is a ship,” he started slowly, “why can’t I hear any engines?”

The apparent captain sighed. “It went dead four minutes ago.”

“So maybe we should stop chatting and get to engineering. Captain,” a man said, causing the captain to send him a glare.

_“Secure closure active.”_

At the computer’s voice and the loud clang from behind her, the captain shouted, “What?!”

“The ship’s gone mad,” the man grunted.

Suddenly, another woman ran towards them, a frown on her face as doors slammed shut behind her until they were all locked in the one area. “Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked in to area 27,” she asked the others. As if to mark her words, the sound of the doors closing came to them. The woman shook her head and then paused, her eyes widening as she took in the trio of time travelers. “Who are you?”

Blinking at the question, the Doctor made to do the usual introductions but Martha, sounding distant and worried, cut him off. “He’s the Doctor, she’s Kayla, and I’m Martha. Hello.” No one seemed to notice her walking forwards towards one of the windows.

_“Impact projection: 42 minutes.”_ The computer voice warned.

“We’ll get out of this. I promise,” the captain said with a frown.

The Doctor, his eyes narrowing at the word ‘impact,’ pulled Kayla closer to him. “Forty-two minutes ‘til what?” he asked in a sharp voice, not noticing Martha softly calling his name.

Suddenly, the black woman screamed almost hysterically, “Doctor!!! Kayla!!! Look.”

The two ran over and joined Martha at the window. For a few moments, they didn’t know what they were looking at. And then, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand tightly and she whimpered through their mental link, _‘That can’t be…’_

The captain stepped up behind them with a grim look on her face. “Forty – two minutes until we crash into the sun,” she informed them, though she didn’t need to. The trio of time travelers could clearly see that they were hurdling towards a giant sun at a speed no one could take comfort in.

Turing away from the window, the Doctor zeroed in on the captain. “How many crew members on board?” he asked in a quick, panicky voice. After all, his bonded was in danger of crashing into a sun!

The woman blinked. “Seven, including us.”

“We transport cargo across the galaxy. Everything’s automated. We just keep the ship…”

The Doctor rolled his eyes and ignored the person. Instead, he cut him off as he started running back to the door they had come through. “Call the others, I’ll get you out!”

As the Time Lord made to open the door, Kayla had a sinking feeling that that would be a huge mistake. This was confirmed when the crew members all rushed towards him to stop him.

“What’s he doing?!” one asked in blatant horror.

“No! Don’t!” the captain cried out.

_‘Doctor, wait!’_ Kayla added in mentally. Sure, she had no idea why they were freaking out, but if they didn’t want him to open that door then he probably shouldn’t.

They were all too late, however. The Doctor opened the door. The area where they had parked the TARDIS had become so hot in the time they had been in the other room that the pure force of the heat knocked him backwards and off his feet. Kayla hurried over to the Doctor and started to check him over with Martha joining her in seconds. Thankfully, he was alright. And, also thankfully, the door to the area was closed, leaving the others to crowd around the Time Lord.

“But our ship’s in there!” he protested while Kayla took his hand and rubbed it as soothingly as possible.

“In the vent chamber?” a crew member asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kayla sighed and shook her head. “It’s our lifeboat,” she tried to explain to the members of the crew.

One of them shrugged. “It’s lava,” she replied bluntly.

“The temperature’s going mad in there! Up 3000 degrees in ten seconds, and still rising,” one woman warned in a worried tone.

“Channeling the air. The closer we get to the sun, the hotter that room’s gonna get.” Kayla had to nod at that logic, even if she didn’t like it.

Martha huffed and crossed her arms. “We’re stuck here,” she stated.

The Doctor looked over at Kayla and saw the slight frown on her face. A small brush of her mind told him exactly what he was guessing, she was upset. She had wanted this trip with Martha to be perfect and now they had basically been told that they were probably going to die in 42 minutes.

The Doctor knew what he had to do.

He clambered to his feet and grabbed Kayla’s hand with an easy smile on his feet. “So? We fix the engines, we steer the ship away from the Sun! Simple! Engineering down here, is it?!” Not waiting for an answer from the others, he knew that he was right, he pulled Kayla with him down the corridors. Behind them, Martha and the crew exchanged looks before they followed at couple.

_“Impact in 40.26.”_

* * *

The Doctor, still pulling Kayla, ran down the stairs to the engineering room with the crew following. However, when they reached the engineering room downstairs, the Doctor stopped and turned to face the crew. “Blimey! Do you always leave things in such a mess?” he asked with an arched eyebrow.

Judging by the crews’ reaction, that was a no. The captain fell against the wall and stared at the mess of wirings, springs, casings that were steaming and littered all over the floor. “Oh my god!”

“What the hell happened?!” one of the men yelled.

The crew started to walk around the room, surveying the damage. Kayla eyed it critically and then looked over at the Doctor. _‘This is done well.’_

_‘Very well,’_ the Doctor agreed with a frown. _‘Too well.’_

_‘Someone did this on purpose,’_ At this, the Doctor moved over to Kayla and took her hand and squeezed it tightly. The idea that someone was sabotaging the ship that was about to crash into a sun did not make the Time Lord happy. Feeling his protectiveness, Kayla ran her hand over her stomach.

“Oh, it’s wrecked,” one of the female crew members sighed.

The Doctor nodded and squeezed Kayla’s hand before she spoke. “Pretty efficiently too. Someone knew what they were doing.” Taking Kayla with him, the Doctor wandered over to a computer terminal that was attached to the wreckage.

“Where’s Korwin? Has anyone heard from him or Ashton?” the captain asked sharply, her eyes narrowing as she looked over all the crew that was present.

One of the crew members shook his head. “No.”

Martha seemed to be the only one in the room who had picked up on what the Doctor had said. “You mean someone did this on purpose?” she asked.

No one answered as the captain ran over to the intercom system and spoke urgently into it. “Korwin? Ashton? Where are you?” there was no response. “Korwin, can you answer?!” she asked, and then there was no response. Shaking her head, she turned to the others. “Where the hell is he? He should be up here!”

While the crew was rushing about to try and find the missing others and repair the ship, Kayla moved over to the Doctor and looked over his shoulder to see that he was using the computer to scan to see where they were. Recognizing the star system, Kayla raised an eyebrow. “The Torajji system?”

The Doctor nodded. “Yep,” he confirmed with a pop of the ‘p’ at the end. “You’re a long way from home, Martha. Half a universe away.”

The Time Lord turned away from the terminal along with Kayla to face Martha, who crossed her arms. “Yeah. Feels it.”

Kayla bit her lip and then turned to the crew with the frown. “Why are you still using energy scoops for fusion?” she questioned. She had noticed the readings on the computer and she _knew_ that that sort of fusion was illegal in the Torajji system. “Hasn’t that been outlawed?”

The crew exchanged guilty looks, which gave Kayla all she needed to know. The captain finally responded with what was trying to be a dismissive tone, though she didn’t quite pull it off. “We’re due to upgrade next docking,” she said. Turning away from the glaring Time Lady, she faced her crew. “Scannell, engine report.”

Nodding, the man that was apparently Scannell walked over to computer terminal the Doctor and Kayla had just left. Setting up a scan, the crew gathered around him with anxious expressions on their face. Finally, the machine beeped several times and Scannell frowned. “No response,” he reported before he ran over to the wrecked engine.

“What?!” the captain cried out.

Scannell picked up a piece of the wiring and examined it. “They’re burnt out. The controls are wrecked. I can’t get them back online,” he explained with a shake of his head.

Kayla frowned over at the Doctor, who took off the glasses that she hadn’t even notice he had on. “Oh come on! Auxiliary engines! Every craft’s got auxiliaries!”

“Where are they?” the brunette asked.

The captain raised an eyebrow at the couple and then shrugged. “We don’t have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship,” she explained.

“Yeah, with 29 password sealed doors between us and them. You’ll never get there in time,” Scannell put in with a shake of his head.

Martha frowned. “Can’t you override the doors?”

“No. Sealed closure means what it says. They’re all dead-lock sealed,” Scannell answered.

Kayla sighed. “There goes a sonic screwdriver.”

Scannell nodded. “Nothing’s any use. We’ve got no engines, no time, and no chance.”

Seeing that the crew was agreeing with him, the Doctor frowned at them all. “Oh listen to you! Defeated before you’ve even started! Where’s your Dunkirk spirit?!” he turned to the captain. “Who’s got the door passwords?”

Before she could answer, a young man did. “They’re randomly generated. Reckon I know most of ‘em,” he paused and then gave them a smile. “Sorry. Riley Vashti.”

The Doctor nodded. “Then what’re you waiting for Riley Vashti, get on it,” he ordered, effectively taking command.

Riley frowned. “Well, it’s a two-person job.” Going over to the corner, he brought a huge magnetic clamp and backpack over to the Doctor. “One, it takes to answer the questions, and the other to carry this.” Leaning down, he put the equipment into the bag and zipped it up. “The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh captain?”

“Reliable and simple, just like you, eh Riley?” the captain joked back with a strained smile.

Riley rolled his eyes. “Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice!”

Grinning slightly, Martha took the bag from Riley and shouldered it. “I’ll help you. Make myself useful,” she said with a shrug.

Riley nodded. “It’s remotely controlled by computer panel. That’s why it needs two,” he explained. Giving the black woman a smile, he started to head off and Martha followed him.

“Martha!” Kayla called out suddenly, causing the companion to pause and then turn. “Be careful.”

Martha’s brow furrowed but she nodded. “Same to you.” Not noticing the huge grin that appeared on the brunette’s face, the black woman jogged after Riley.

Just as the two had left, a male’s voice came over the intercom. “McDonnell? It’s Ashton.”

McDonnell, the captain, ran over to the intercom panel and spoke into it urgently. “Where are you? Is Korwin with you?”

“Get up to the med-center NOW!” Ashton yelled.

Her face draining of color, McDonnell sprinted out of the room. The Doctor and Kayla quickly followed. The trio passed Martha and Riley, who were getting prepared to tackle the first door, but paid them no mind as they focused on getting to the med-center.

_“Impact in 34.31.”_

* * *

When they reached the med-center, Kayla and the Doctor took in the scene. There was man, who was likely Korwin, that was thrashing on a bed that was connected to what appeared to be an MRI scanner. Two people, a man that was most likely Ashton and an unknown female, were trying to restrain the struggling man. “Argh! Stop it!” Korwin cried out, pain evident in his voice.

“Korwin! It’s Abi! Open your eyes, I need to take a look at you!” The woman, Abi, ordered.

Shaking herself out of whatever trance she had fallen into at the sight, McDonnell hurried over to the two. “Korwin! What’s happened?! Is he OK?!”

The Doctor hurried over to the foot of the bed along with Kayla. “Oh God! Help me! It’s burning me!!!” Korwin screamed.

The Doctor pulled Kayla back some, a frown on his face. “How long’s he been like this?!” he asked.

“Ashton just brought him in,” Abi answered.

Getting his sonic screwdriver out, the Doctor started to scan the man. Seeing this, McDonnell glared at him. “What are you doing?!” She asked just as Korwin cried out in pain.

“It’s a Sonic impulse,” Kayla replied in an even voice.

McDonnell shook her head and pushed past Ashton so she could be at the head of the bed. “Don’t be so stupid, that’s my husband!”

“And he’s just sabotaged our ship!” Ashton yelled.

The captain turned towards him, a horrified expression on her face. “What?!”

Ashton nodded. “He went mad. He set the ship to secure closure, then he set the heat pulse to melt the controls.”

“No way! He wouldn’t do that!” McDonnell protested with a firm shake of her head.

“I saw it happen, Captain,” Ashton said with a sigh.

Having finished scanning the man, the Doctor leaned forwards some to talk to Korwin. “Korwin? Korwin, open your eyes for me a second.”

“I can’t!” The man protested.

The Doctor frowned. “Yeah, course you can. Go on.”

Hearing Korwin’s protest to not look at the Doctor, Kayla turned away and picked up a sedative gun. “Sedative?” she checked with Abi even though she knew that she was right.

“Yes,” Abi answered with nod.

Turning away from her, Kayla gave the Doctor the gun and he shot the sedative into Korwin’s neck. The man gave one final shout and then fell still and silent. Giving Kayla a grin, he handed her the gun and she replaced it on the tray.

Now that Korwin was no longer thrashing about, the Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and Kayla followed in suit next to him. “Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings…”

Kayla picked up from where he left off to point at the machine. “Stasis chamber should be able to help. Keep him sedated in there. Regulate the body temperature.”

Abi peered at the couple questioningly but started to do what they said all the same. Ashton, who was very out of breath from trying to restrain Korwin, also looked at them oddly. The Doctor choose to ignore these looks and instead put in, “And, just for fun, run a bio-scan and tissue profile on a metabolic detail.”

Abi looked over at him. “Just doing them now.”

The Doctor grinned. “Oh, you’re good,” he praised.

Kayla nodded. “Very good,” she agreed. “Do you know if anyone else are presenting these symptoms?”

“Not so far.”

The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s something.”

McDonnell, who had been standing by her husband throughout the entire conversation, finally looked up at everyone else. “Will someone tell me what is the matter with him?!” she snapped.

The Doctor got to his feet and then helped Kayla up. “Some sort of infection. We’ll know more after the test results. Now, Allons-y, back downstairs. Ay! See about those engines. Go.” Ashton started to head out but McDonnell stayed. “Ay! Go.” With a sigh, the woman left as well.

Kayla turned to Abi. “Call if there’s any news,” she instructed. The woman frowned but nodded. “Any questions?” she asked, ignoring the Doctor tugging on her hand to get her to head out with him.

Abi shook her head with a scoff. “Yeah. Who are you two?”

The Doctor laughed. “I’m the Doctor and she’s Kayla.” Not letting the brunette say anything else, the Doctor pulled her along with him, which made her sigh and follow.

_“Heat shields failing. At twenty-five percent. Impact in 32.50.”_

* * *

Having made it back down to the engine room, the Doctor quickly spoke into the intercom to Abi. “Abi, how’s Korwin doing? Any results from the bio-scan?”

There was a pause and then Abi’s voice, tense with confusion, responded. “He’s under heavy sedation. I’m just trying to make sense of this data. Give me a couple of minutes and I’ll let you know.”

Going back to look at the wirings, the Doctor glanced over to see what Kayla was doing. She was watching the three of them work, not taking a risk of getting hurt. When she felt the Doctor’s gaze on her, she looked up. Briefly, the Time Lord allowed his eyes to flick over to the intercom.

_“I can’t…she hates me,”_ Kayla whispered through the mental link, quickly realizing what the Doctor was telling her.

The Doctor gave a physical shrug that was small enough that no one noticed the movement. _“There’s no harm in just checking in with her.”_

Sighing, Kayla carefully made her way over to the intercom and spoke into it. “Martha? Riley? How are you two doing?” she asked.

There was a pause and then Martha’s voice, shaky due to her running, came through. “Area twenty-nine, at the door to twenty-eight!”

Hearing Martha’s reply, the Doctor hurried to peer above the intercom, putting his glasses on. “You’ve gotta move faster!” he ordered through the intercom.

Despite her heavy breathing, it was clear that Martha huffed. “We’re doing our best!”

Going back to his work, Kayla was left alone at the intercom. Leaning against the wall next to it, the brunette listened as Riley and Martha reached another door. “Find the next number in the sequence: 313, 331, 367…what?”

“You said the crew knew all the answers.” Martha said, her voice growing slightly shriller as she realized that Riley didn’t know the answer.

“The crew’s changed since we set the questions,” Riley responded.

Martha let out a huff of air. “You’re joking…” she said with a sigh, her voice trailing off.

Having head what was going on over the intercom, the Doctor ran over and yelled, “379!”

“What?” Kayla yelled back, staring at the Time Lord in shock.

“What?!” Martha echoed.

The Doctor shook his head. “It’s a sequence of happy primes. 379.”

“Happy primes?” Kayla asked, frowning.

The Doctor ignored the brunette, which made her huff. Instead, he snapped into the intercom, “Just enter it!”

“Are you sure? We only get one chance!” Riley questioned.

Getting very annoyed, the Doctor started to speak ultra-quickly as he answered. “Any number which reduces to one when you take the sum of the square of its digits and you continue iterating until it yields one is a happy number. Any number that doesn’t, isn’t. A happy prime is a number which is both happy and prime, now type it in!”

The Doctor looked over to Kayla and shook his head. “Don’t they teach recreational mathematics any more?” he said in wonderment.

Kayla shrugged. “I don’t know what they teach any more than you do.”

Hearing the sound of feet landing on the ground, Kayla peered over the Doctor to see McDonnell getting down from a ladder and send the couple a dirty, dirty look.

Suddenly, Martha’s voice came through the intercom. “We’re through!”

“Keep moving. Fast as you can,” the Doctor shouted. Shaking his head, the Time Lord took off his glasses. “And, Martha, be careful. There may be something else on board this ship,” he said in a quiet, worried voice.

Kayla sent him a sharp look. She knew that the Doctor had been thinking this through, but she hadn’t expected him to voice his thoughts so…quickly.

“Any time you wanna unnerve me, feel free!” Martha snapped, though Kayla could tell that she was using the sarcasm as a cover for her fear.

Shaking her head, Kayla leaned over and said in a soft voice. “Martha, I can’t promise you that you’re safe, but I promise you that we’re doing everything in our power to make sure we all get out of his alive.”

Martha let out a soft breath and said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kayla said with a soft smile.

The Doctor leaned over and flipped off the comm. Taking Kayla’s hand, he looked her in the eye with a slight smirk. He tilted his head and waited until Kayla said with a slight huff through their mental link, _“You were right.”_

The Doctor kissed her gently. _“It’s going to be a slow process, Kayla, but I promise that Martha is going to forgive you.”_

In response, Kayla looked down and then hugged the Doctor tightly.

_“Impact in 30. 50.”_

* * *

The remaining crew stood in the engine room in a loose circle around the Doctor, watching him as he rambled on about what to do. The only one not in the circle was Kayla, who instead was leaning against the wall, a hand on her stomach almost protectively.

“We need a backup in case they don’t reach the auxiliary engines in time. Come on! Think! Resources, what have we got?!” the Time Lord rambled.

Suddenly, Martha’s voice came over the intercom. “Doctor? Or…Kayla?”

The Doctor looked up at his name. Seeing Kayla looking over at him, the Time Lord nodded. Taking a breath, the brunette moved over to the comm. system. “It’s Kayla,” She started. “What is it?”

Martha took a breath. “Who had the most number ones, Elvis, or the Beatles. That’s pre-download.”

Hearing the question, the Doctor hurried over to the comm. system as well. “Elvis. No! The Beatles! No! Wait! Um…um…” Kayla turned to the Doctor just in time to see the Time Lord’s face screw up in pain. Seeing his hand reach up to slap the back of his hand, Kayla reached out and grabbed the Doctor’s hand. “Argh! What was that remix? Um…I don’t know! I am a bit busy!”

“I’m not,” Kayla snapped at the Doctor. Turning back to the intercom, she took a deep breath and rubbed her stomach as she tried to thought. “Martha…I don’t know,” she said with a shake of her head. “I barely remember _listening_ to those two musicians but that’s only because of…” she swallowed hard and bit her lip. “Jack,” she finished in a whisper.

Back at where he was working, the Doctor looked up sharply at the name Kayla had uttered, but she didn’t notice. Instead, she was staring at the intercom, though the Doctor knew that she wasn’t seeing it.

“Alright,” he heard Martha say. “I’ll ask someone else.”

With the intercom crackling off, Kayla looked over to see the Doctor back to rambling. “At the very least, it’ll buy us some more time,” he was saying.

Kayla frowned and mentally asked, _“What?”_

The Doctor’s reply was almost too fast for her to keep up. _“We’re going to use the generator to jump-start the ship. It’ll buy us time enough that we’ll be able to actually fix the ship!”_

Not noticing their silent exchange, McDonnell was speaking to the Doctor. “That…is brilliant,” she said with a slight shake of her head.

The Doctor nodded quickly, energetically. “I know! See! Tiny glimmer of hope!”

The crew around him started to smile some, the idea of hope all filling them up.

“If it works,” Scannell said with a shake of his head.

McDonnell sent Scannell a sharp look. “Oh, believe me. You’re gonna make it work,” she basically ordered, the unadded ‘or else’ hanging in the air.

Looking dejected, Scannell walked off. Ashton stared over at McDonnell with respect that was mirrored, though not as strongly, on the Doctor’s face as well.

“That was pretty good,” Kayla said with a slight smile.

_“Impact in 28.50.”_

* * *

The intercom crackled to life and Abi’s voice, sounding very frightened, came through. “Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me.”

Pausing in his work, the Doctor moved over to the intercom. “What d’you mean?”

“Well, Korwin’s body’s changing! His whole biological make-up, it… it’s impossible,” Abi explained. The Doctor frowned and started to think this over when, quite suddenly, Abi said in a shaky voice, “This is med-centre. Urgent assistance requested. Urgent assistance!”

His expression changing from concern to shock, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and started to run out of the engine room. “Stay here! Keep working!” He yelled over his shoulder as they ran.

McDonnell, of course, followed them. The Doctor briefly felt the want to order her back, but they had not time to spare.

_“Doctor, there’s something wrong.”_

The Doctor felt his entire blood go cold at the sentence from Kayla. _“What?! Is it the baby?!”_  he asked frantically.

_“No. It’s just that someone else is following us beside McDonnell.”_

Listening intently, the Doctor allowed his sprint to slow as he heard the extra set of footsteps. Turning around, he glared at the man, Scannell, that was following them. McDonnell also turned around, a puzzled expression on her face.

“Captain?!” Scannell cried out, a frown forming on his face at the stop.

The Doctor nearly growled. As it was, he squeezed Kayla’s hand tight. “I told you to stay in engineering!”

Scannell sent the Doctor a glare. “I only take orders form one person round here,” he said in a proud voice.

Kayla shook her head while the Doctor just looked shocked. “You’re an idiot,” she snapped.

Regaining himself enough to laugh at the comment, the Doctor turned to McDonnell. “Is he always this cheery?”

Restarting their running, the foursome sprinted down the hall when, quite suddenly, a horrible scream came piercing through the comm. that McDonnell had brought with her.

“Doctor, what were those screams?” Martha asked in a soft voice through the comm.

McDonnell through the comm. to the Doctor, who handed it to Kayla. “Martha, I can’t really answer you,” she started truthfully. “Just concentrate on those doors. You need to keep moving forwards!”

_“Impact in 27.06.”_


	21. 42 Pt. 2

When McDonnell, the Doctor, and Kayla reached the med center behind Scannell, they did not find a pretty sight. They had repeatedly heard Korwin, the husband of Captain McDonnell, saying ‘Burn with me,’ and though that had pushed them to run even harder, it seemed that that hadn’t been enough and they were too late, for the bed where Korwin had been lying was empty.

“Korwin’s gone…” McDonnell whispered.

Scannell, who had turned to watch his captain’s face, made a choking noise. “Oh my God…”

Turning in the same direction as him, the trio saw a horrible, horrible sight. On one of the walls of the med center, there was a charred, black human shape seared on the wall. One of its hands was in the air.

Kayla was the first one to realize who it was and turned around and quietly vomited at the mere idea. The Doctor quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her hair back until she was done. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled a rag that the brunette took and used to wipe off her face.

_‘Doctor, that was-‘_

_‘I know, Kayla.’_

Once the Time Lord was sure that Kayla was alright, the Doctor went over to the wall by himself and ran his finger around the outline of the body’s shape, only vaguely aware that Scannell said, “Tell me that’s not Lerner.”

“Endothermic vaporization. I’ve never seen one this ferocious,” the Doctor explained in a low voice. Shaking his head, he took in the figure as a whole. “Burn with me,” he echoed.

“That’s what we heard Korwin say,” Scannell pointed out.

McDonnell’s eyed widened as she realized what they were implying. “What?! D’you think…no way! Scannell, tell him! Korwin is not a killer! He can’t vaporize people! He’s human!” she protested, her voice rising as she got worked up over the thought.

Not paying attention to the captain, the Doctor leaned down and picked up the x-rays and Bioscan reports that had had Abi so worked up before. “His bioscan results…internal temperature, one hundred degrees! Body oxygen replaced by hydrogen!” He quickly turned towards McDonnell. “Your husband hasn’t been infected, he’s been overwhelmed!”

Shaking her head, McDonnell snatched the results out of the Doctor’s hand. “The test results are wrong!”

Ignoring her once again, the Doctor started to pace as he tried to think of what it meant. “But what is it though? Parasite? Mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body. But how did it get inside him?!”

Her voice raised in hysteria, McDonnell snapped at the Doctor, “Stop talking like he’s some kind of experiment!”

The Doctor whirled to face her. “Where’s the ship been? Have you made planet-fall recently?” Oddly enough, McDonnell’s face went blank. “Docked with any other vessels? Any kind of external contact at all?”

McDonnell crossed her arms and glared at the Doctor. “What is this? An interrogation?!”

Kayla stepped next to the Doctor, still pale from throwing up but seemingly okay. “We need to stop him before he can kill again,” she explained in a soft voice.

It was at this point that McDonnell seemed to become overwhelmed. Whispering, “We’re just…a cargo ship,” she turned away from the couple with a distraught look.

Seeing this, Scannell hurried over and started to comfort the captain. “Doctor, Kayla, if you give her a minute…” Nodding, the Doctor and Kayla looked on as the man comforted McDonnell.

Recovering quickly, the captain shook her head and faced the couple once more. “I’m fine. I need to warn the crew.” Leaving her to it, the Doctor showed Kayla the Bioscan results while McDonnell walked over to the intercom and spoke into it. “Everybody listen to me! Something has infected Korwin. We think…” at the pause, the Doctor looked over to see her taking a deep breath, “He killed Abi Lerner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?”

“Understood Captain,” Ashton replied in a hard voice.

_“Impact in 24.51.”_

* * *

The Doctor and Kayla were still puzzling over the results while McDonnell sat on the empty bed and Scannell stood nearby her.

“Is the infection permanent? Can you cure him?” the captain finally asked after a long and tense silence.

Kayla exchanged a look with the Doctor before looking over at McDonnell. “We don’t know,” she said in a serious voice.

McDonnell glared. “Don’t lie to me Kayla, or you, Doctor. Eleven years we’ve been married. We chose this ship together. He keeps me honest. So I don’t want false hope.”

Not liking the look the captain was giving his Bonded one bit, the Doctor was a bit harsher than her than he usually would have been. “The parasite’s too aggressive. Your husband’s gone. There’s no way back,” when Kayla rested her hand on his shoulder to calm him, the Doctor added in a, “Sorry,” that sounded slightly sincere.

_‘Doctor, go easy on her,’_ Kayla said with a slight frown. _‘She just found out her husband is affected by a parasite that has completely taken over him. How would you feel if the same happened to me?’_

Frowning at the mere thought, the Doctor grabbed Kayla’s hand and squeezed it tightly. This action calmed him down enough so that when he spoke to McDonnell again, it was in a far softer and kinder voice than before. “Are you…certain nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody’s working on anything secret, ‘cause it’s vital that you tell me.”

McDonnell frowned at the question. “I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew’s lives. There is nothing.”

“Then why is this so interested in you?” he asked.

The captain shrugged helplessly. “I wish I knew…” she said with a shake of her head.

Suddenly, the comm. crackled to life and Martha’s voice came through once more. “Doctor, Kayla, we’re through to area 17,” she reported.

The Doctor nodded. “Keep going. you’ve got to get to area one and reboot those engines,” he reminded.

_“Heat shield failing. At twenty percent.”_

* * *

The Doctor, Kayla, McDonnell, and Scannell were all running towards the engine room when Martha’s voice came through the intercom. “Doctor and Kayla! We’re stuck in an escape pod off the area seventeen airlock,” she reported. “One of the crew’s trying to jettison us! You’ve gotta help us!”

McDonnell frowned. “Why is this happening?”

The Doctor squeezed Kayla’s hand and only sent her a glare in response. “Stay here! I mean it this time!” he ordered, and the two ran off. “Jump start those engines!” he added over his shoulder.

* * *

The Doctor and Kayla ran _hard_ through the many corridors the ship held. By the time they reached area 17 and the escape pod, it was clear that they had little time left. Knowing that it would take longer for Kayla to recover and, honestly, he hated the idea of drawing this unknown parasite’s attention to the brunette. So he stepped in front of her and yelled at the figure, which was clearly Ashton, “That’s enough!” Hearing his voice, Ashton turned and seemed to stare at him through the helmet he was wearing. “What do you want? Why this ship? Tell me!”

Instead of answering him, what used to be Ashton turned back to the keypad and put his fist through it. Judging by the way Riley and Martha started to panic in the pod, it seemed that there was no way to stop the escape pod from leaving.

The Doctor glared at Ashton. “Come on. Let’s see you,” he said while Ashton started to advance towards the Time Lord. “I wanna know what you really are…”

As Ashton started to lift the visor of the helmet he was wearing, the Doctor moved more in front of Kayla, forcing the brunette completely behind him. Ignoring the irritation she felt at this, the Doctor focused in on Ashton as he continued to raise the visor…and then he stopped and seemed to double up, overcome with something painful. However, this only lasted a few seconds and then Ashton was straightening up and heading towards the Doctor. The Time Lord grounded his teeth and prepared to tell Kayla to run when, quite oddly, Ashton jostled past the two and headed out of area 17.

The Doctor blinked and then turned to Kayla, who was frowning. _‘He’s got to be headed to the others,’_ she warned.

Seeing the logic in this, the Doctor hurried over to the nearest comm. unit and switched it on. “McDonnell! Ashton’s heading in your direction!” He shouted into it. “He’s been infected, just like Korwin!”

There was a pause and then Scannell replied, “Korwin’s dead, Doctor.” The Doctor’s face fell at this information and he looked down.

_‘Doctor,’_ Kayla said suddenly, causing him to look over at the brunette. _‘Martha’s still in the pod.’_

His eyes widening, the Doctor hurried over to the door to the escape pod to see the black woman mouthing his and Kayla’s name. Knowing that there was nothing he could do, the Doctor mouthed back, ‘We’ll save you,’ over and over again even as the pod detached from the ship and started to float away.

_“Impact in 17.05.”_

* * *

For a long time, the Doctor and Kayla sat in area 17, both distraught over the loss of Martha. Kayla’s brain was going in repeated circle of thoughts. Her head was resting on the Doctor’s shoulder while the Time Lord had wrapped an arm around her and held her close. They both felt utterly hopeless, Kayla especially so. Despite the fact that she and Martha weren’t really at the best place in their relationship, she still loved the black woman. She had always been kind to Kayla and the Doctor and, to be completely honest, the brunette had always seen her as some sort of daughter figure. It was their job to protect Martha and now she was floating off towards a sun in an escape pod.

Feeling Kayla’s distress, the Doctor hugged the brunette close. His thoughts were equally dark, but there was one that was growing with increasing attention.

Shooting to his feet, the Doctor headed over to the comm. unit once more. “Scannell! I need a spacesuit in area 17, now!” He barked into it. Kayla looked up at the Time Lord, her brow furrowing.

“What for?” Scannell asked.

Growling in frustration, the Doctor yelled into the comm. unit, making the brunette jump in shock, “Just get down here!!!”

Getting to her feet, Kayla walked over to the Doctor with a frown on her face. “What are you planning?” she asked in a low voice. Ever since the Doctor had headed over to the comm. unit, he had completely blocked the brunette out, which hurt more than she rather admit.

Instead of answering, the Doctor just squeezed Kayla’s hand tightly and then walked over to the airlock door and looked out.

* * *

Kayla was very, _very_ displeased at the plan the Doctor had come up with. Her arms were crossed over her stomach and her eyes were narrow in a glare as the Doctor, now dressed in an orange space suit with a helmet under his arm.

Scannell, who was on the same side of as Kayla, was frowning deeply at the Time Lord. “I can’t let you do this.”

The Doctor just rolled his eyes. “You’re wasting your breath, Scannell. You’re not gonna stop me.”

Kayla, however, had a different tactic. She stepped up so they were practically nose to nose. “What happens if you don’t come back?”

The Doctor swallowed hard. Taking both her hands, he squeezed them tight. “Martha is worth that risk. It’s the least we can do.”

Unwanted tears went to Kayla’s eyes and she closed them tightly to not let them fall. “This is suicide,” she whispered.

The Doctor kissed the brunette gently. “Go wait outside this room,” he instructed. “I don’t...if something happens then I want you far away. The further you are the more time you have before-before you go insane.”

The unwanted tears falling, Kayla turned and walked out of the door. As she was leaving, she heard Scannell say in a low, worried voice, “You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you.”

The door sliding shut behind her, Kayla leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, the tears falling more and more. She knew in her two hearts that the Doctor would _not_ survive this. Her hand went to her stomach as her thoughts flew to the other baby she had once carried. Poor, poor Lucy. And then what about Jack? Part of her wanted to believe that he was alive, it was almost like part of her _knew_ that he should be. But nothing came back from death. Briefly, her hand fingered the vortex manipulator on her wrist. For the first time since she had Bonded with the Doctor, she felt truly and completely alone.

_“Impact in 11.15.”_

* * *

Kayla felt it when the Doctor left the airlock. She felt her chest tightening from both her anxiety and the anxiety the Doctor had. She felt hot and stuffy and she fanned herself lightly with her hand, not that that helped. She felt the same desperation the Doctor was feeling and if she closed her eyes she could almost picture the Doctor hanging onto the burning ship and _stretching_ towards a lever to pull it down and get the pod Martha and Riley were in to return.

Shaking her head hard to get rid of the image, Kayla tried not to close her eyes for a long time, but the mental link they had to seemed to have other ideas. It seemed to almost force her eyes close and once again she could practically see the Doctor struggling back into the airlock and staring out at the sun, watching its swirling molten surface. And then…she felt the horror, the vile sickness the Doctor felt as he, and therefore she, realized that the sun was _alive._

And then it happened. The parasite the injured, angry sun gave off infected the Doctor. Feeling it try to get to her, Kayla slammed as many mental barriers she could between her and the Doctor. It hurt both of them, but she knew it was needed. And thankfully, it worked. Though she could no longer feel the Doctor, which scared her, she was also not infected with the parasite.

But the Doctor was, and he needed her. So she started to make for the door to the airlock with the computer warning, _“Impact in. 8. 57,”_ when the Doctor fell out of the airlock and onto the floor of the corridor.

Even if she hadn’t known that he was infected, she would have known the minute she saw him. He was sweating buckets and his eyes were screwed shut. He fell to the floor and started to writhe in pain. Her heart breaking, Kayla knelt beside him and held his hand tightly. “Doctor, I’m here,” she said in a soft voice.

The door to the airlock opened once more and Martha and Riley clambered out. The two quickly took in the scene and Martha knelt beside the Time Lord. “Doctor! Doctor!” When he gave no response, she looked up at Kayla. “Is he OK?”

Shaking her head, Kayla had the black woman help her help the Doctor sit up, however, during the process his eyes flashed open just enough to reveal the sickening, burning bright light before he squeezed them closed. “Stay away from me!” he growled.

Nodding to Martha to follow his instructions, Kayla and the Martha backed off quickly from the Doctor as McDonnell ran up. “What’s happened?” she asked.

If the Doctor was able to open his eyes, Kayla was positive he would have been glaring at the woman. As it was, Kayla was glaring at her hard, which seemed to make her slightly uncomfortable. “It’s your fault, Captain McDonnell!” the Doctor yelled out.

Kayla saw her expression of shock, though she didn’t let it linger on her face for long and quickly regained her composure. “Riley! Get down to area 10 and help Scannell with the doors. Go!” Not needing to be told twice, Riley jogged off.

“You mined that sun! Stripped its surface for cheap fuel! You should have scanned for life!” the Doctor shouted at McDonnell.

The woman blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“Doctor, what are you talking about?!” Martha added in, her eyes roaming the Doctor’s face and then flicking towards Kayla.

Knowing that the Doctor was in too much pain to talk, Kayla started to explain, though her voice was low and almost growly. “That sun, the sun _you_ used to as cheap, illegal fuel, is alive. And now, it’s _screaming.”_

“What do you mean? How can a sun be alive?” McDonnell shook her head. “Why are you saying that?”

“Because it’s living in him.”

The full weight of what she had done hitting her, Captain McDonnell whispered, “Oh my god…”

On the ground, the Doctor growled. “Humans! You grab whatever’s nearest and bleed it dry!” He let out a scream of pure anguish and pain, causing Kayla to press back against the wall and place a protective hand on her stomach. The baby, as if sensing what its father was going through, was kicking and moving around. “You should have scanned!”

“It takes too long! We’d be caught! Fusion scoops are illegal,” McDonnell tried to explain.

The Doctor cried out in pain once more. “You’ve got to freeze me, quickly!”

Instantly, Kayla and Martha were back at the Doctor’s side. Seeing Martha’s confused face, Kayla quickly tried to explain. “The stasis chamber! We need to freeze it out of him.”

“…below minus 200,” the Doctor groaned out. His face seemed to change from pure pain to some mixture of pain and fear. “It’ll use me to kill you if you don’t! The closer we get to the sun, the stronger-“ he bit down on his lip hard and Kayla saw that he had drawn blood. “-it gets! Med-centre! Quickly! Quickly!”

Knowing that she couldn’t help, Kayla pulled back. Turning to McDonnell, she nearly screamed at the woman, “Help Martha!”

Snapping into action, McDonnel helped Martha pick up the Doctor. The two half-dragged, half-carried the Time Lord down the corridors as quickly as possible with Kayla following.

_“Impact in, 7.30.”_

* * *

Martha and McDonnell with the Doctor in between them broke through the plastic that acted as a door to the med center. The Doctor screamed out again as he was lifted onto the stasis chamber bed. Kayla was instantly next to him, her hand holding his as tightly as she could. “I’m here Doctor,” she said in a soft voice.

The Doctor gritted his teeth, clearly trying to hold back the parasite. “Where’s Martha?”

Martha, who was already coming over, hurried up when she heard the Doctor say her name. “Here I am! Stasis chamber, minus 200, yeah?”

“No, you don’t know how this equipment works! You’ll kill him! Nobody can survive those temperatures!” McDonnell protested, glaring at Martha and Kayla.

Kayla sent back a glare of her own. “He and I _aren’t_ human. He is able to survive this,” she snarled.

McDonnell blinked and then made a move towards the bed. “Let me help you then!”

“You have done enough _help_ Captain McDonnell,” Kayla growled.

As McDonnell backed away, Martha and Kayla went back to helping the Doctor, and, in the case of Martha, trying to figure out the stasis chamber. “Ten seconds. That’s all I’ll be able to take. No more!” the Doctor warned and then, once another scream of pain was done, cried out, “Kayla!”

The brunette squeezed his hand. “I’m here Doctor,” she repeated.

“It’s burning me up. I can’t control it,” the Doctor sounded scared and worried, so Kayla squeezed his hand once more. “If you don’t get rid of it,” his face shifted from pain to one of pure hatred. “I’ll kill them all. I’ll kill them all with _you_ at my side.” With another scream, he seemed to break through the parasite. “I’m scared! I’m so scared!” He admitted.

Kayla felt a few tears fall and she squeezed the Doctor’s hand. “I know, Doctor, I know. We’re going to get through this together. I’ll be right next to you.”

“It’s bloody killing me! Then what’ll happen?!”

“I won’t let it.”

The Doctor whimpered in pain. “You need…you need to tell Martha about…about regeneration,” the Doctor struggled to say. “If I die-“

“You _won’t_ die,” Kayla snapped. “I need you here. Your _child_ needs you here.” Seeing the look Martha was giving her, Kayla took a deep breath. “I’ll be here as soon as you come out,” she vowed. “I love you.”

The Doctor yelled out in pain and fear as Martha pushed a lever that made the bed he was on go into the chamber. Typing in the number, the black woman felt Kayla come up next to her. Together, the two watched as the temperature in the chamber drop rapidly and together, the two tried to ignore the Doctor _screaming_ in agony.

_“Heat shields failing. At five percent.”_

* * *

It was at -70 when disaster struck. The stasis chamber shut off, leaving the Doctor covered in ice crystals and still very much infected by the sun. “No! Martha you can’t stop it! Not yet!” he cried out.

“What happened?” Kayla asked McDonnell sharply.

“Power’s been cut in engineering,” she explained with a frown.

Martha shook her head. “But who’s down there?”

Kayla saw McDonnell’s eyes widened. “Leave it to me,” she said before running out of the room.

The Doctor let out another scream in the stasis chamber, making Kayla and Martha exchanged worried looks.

* * *

Time was now running short. Martha was trying to figure out how to get the stasis chamber working again while Kayla was watching the Doctor in the chamber with a frown on her face. She felt completely powerless as she watched the Doctor defrost.

Suddenly, the Doctor called out, “Martha, Kayla! Listen!” Both exchanging worried looks, the two peered into the stasis chamber. “I’ve only got a moment. You two _have_ gotta go!”

Martha frowned. “No way!”

Kayla crossed her arms stubbornly. “I am _not_ leaving you,” she hissed.

“Get to the front! Vent the engines! Sun particles in the fuel! Get rid of them!” the Doctor pleaded.

“I am not leaving you!” Martha protested, but Kayla was silent.

“You’ve got to! Give back what they took!” the Doctor cried out.

Martha looked over at Kayla helplessly and was surprised when Kayla nodded. “Go,” the pregnant woman said in a low voice. “I’m staying.” When Martha opened her mouth to protest, Kayla snapped, “Go!”

Her eyes widening, Martha hurried off.

“Kayla…Kayla please,” the Doctor pleaded inside the stasis chamber. “I need you to go with her. I don’t want to hurt you!”

Kayla shook her head. “You heard the parasite. It won’t kill me.”

The Doctor whimpered in response.

_“Impact in 2.17.”_

* * *

Kayla was backed against the wall, carefully watching as the Doctor literally fell out of the stasis chamber. Fighting some sort of invisible force, the Doctor threw himself over the stasis chamber’s controls and then fell to the floor.

Crawling on the floor, he looked up at Kayla, his eyes squeezed shut. “Kayla…go to Martha. Give it back or…”

The brunette saw his eyes start to open and ran hard. She felt a burning sensation on her back and heard the Doctor say in a deep voice, “Burn with me. Burn with me, Kayla!”

_“Impact in 1.21.”_

Grabbing an individual comm. that was on the ground, Kayla flipped it on and yelled into it, “Martha, hurry!”

Behind her, the Doctor screamed out as they got closer to the sun and Kayla winced. She continued to run, trying to ignore how hard it was becoming to breath.

_“Impact in 1.06.”_

“I’m there!” Martha suddenly yelled through the comm. “I’m there Kayla! Doctor, hold on!”

It seemed that Martha meant that warning literally because suddenly, the ship lurched forwards powerfully. Kayla fell to the floor with a huff, her hands instantly going to her stomach. She quickly looked behind her in time to see the Doctor try to clutch onto the wall but lose his grip and fall to the floor as well. The two slid on the ground, the ship still lurching more and more.

The Doctor let out a pained fill screamed…and then it stopped.

_“Impact averted. Impact averted.”_

Kayla slowly got to her feet and turned to the Doctor, her eyes wide. The Time Lord looked up, his eyes back to normal. Very slowly, Kayla raised the mental barriers.

_‘Kayla…’_ At the Doctor sighing her name, the brunette’s eyes filled with tears. She ran towards him.

Though he was clearly weak, the Doctor got to his feet and hugged Kayla close. _‘Never, never again,’_ Kayla repeated mentally while kissing him gently on the lips repeatedly. Tilting her head up with a finger, the Doctor captured her lips with his.

For a while, the Doctor and Kayla were like that, just remembering each other as if they had been apart for months upon in. However, they were interrupted by a slight coughing noise. The Doctor flicked his eyes upwards and then nuzzled his head into the brunette’s hair while Kayla looked around to see Martha, her face flushed from running over to them. The Doctor grinned and went over to hug her and, after a moment, Kayla joined in as well.

* * *

Much later, once the chamber they had parked in had cooled down enough that it was safe to go in, the Doctor, Kayla, and Martha walked around the TARDIS to check it over and make sure all the bumping and lurching hadn’t hurt it. It clearly needed a fresh coat of paint, as scratches were showing through, but it looked okay otherwise.

“This is never your ship!” Scannell protested with a shake of his head.

The Doctor, who had put up a mask to try and hide just how affected he was over the parasite, rolled his eyes at the man. “Compact! Eh! And another good word, robust! Barely a scorch mark on her,” the Doctor said oh-so-casually as he leaned on one of the larger scorch marks the TARDIS had gotten from the heat.

Martha, once she had checked over the TARDIS herself, switched her brain to being concerned for the two crew members left on the ship. “We can’t just leave them drifting with no fuel,” she pointed out with a frown to the couple.

Riley gave her a slightly pleased smile at her concern. “We’ve sent out an official mayday. The authorities will pick us up soon enough,” he explained.

“Though how we explain what happened…” Scannell muttered, a frown on his face at the mere idea of the task.

Sensing the Doctor’s discomfort, Kayla looked up in time to see him open up the TARDIS to make a hasty retreat into the ship. She frowned slightly, a flash of hurt going through her that the Doctor hadn’t said anything to her about leaving, but she brushed it aside quickly. She figured that the Doctor was just tired. After all, not many people fought off an angry sun’s parasite.

“Just tell them,” the Doctor said in a low voice, bringing Kayla’s attention back to reality. “That sun needs care and protection, just like any other living thing.”

As the Doctor stepped inside the TARDIS, Kayla followed him. She frowned as she realized that Martha was not. Turning around, her eyes widened in sudden understanding as she saw the black woman and Riley, the man she had been trapped in the escape pod with, speaking in low voices.

Grinning slightly, she turned back and stepped into the TARDIS. For a brief moment, the Doctor looked up at her from the console, but then he went back to checking on the machine.

The brunette swallowed hard. “Doctor?” she tried to say in a soft voice, but her voice cracked slightly.

The Doctor looked up at his name. Reading her expression, he gave her a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m fine,” he promised.

Opening her mouth to protest this clear lie, Kayla allowed her mouth to close at the sound of Martha coming in and leaning against the door to the TARDIS. The brunette turned to see her flushing faintly.

“How was Riley?” Kayla asked.

Martha blinked and then blushed much stronger. “He was fine. Just saying how much fun it was not dying with each other.”

The Doctor, not laughing at this, moved over to Martha and handed her a key attached to a string. Martha looked down at it and then her eyes widened and she looked up at the Time Lord. “Really?” she whispered in shock.

“Frequent Flier’s Privilege,” the Doctor explained in a low voice.

Noticing that he was acting so off, Martha looked over at Kayla, but she just shook her head. With a frown, the black woman looked over at the Doctor as she watched him piolet the TARDIS silently. Suddenly, he broke his silence by throwing up a lever and turning towards them. “Now! What do you say? Ice skating on the mineral lakes of Cuhlhan. Fancy it?”

Martha grinned and then nodded…and then her face changed to a mask of pure horror. “Oh no! Mum!” Turning away, she started to dial a phone number into the cell phone and held it up to her ear.

As the black woman started to speak into the cell, Kayla walked over to the Doctor and took his hand and squeezed it. _‘It’s going to be okay,’_ she vowed mentally.

In answer, the Doctor squeezed Kayla’s hand tightly.


	22. Interlude 6

Kayla Hark, Martha Smith, and the Doctor were actually having a relaxing time. It had been several long weeks and Kayla had greatly expanded. To Martha, the ever doctor in training, she seemed about 19 weeks along. The baby they were expecting, from all the scans that Martha could actually complete, seemed to growing like a normal baby. The species was still unknown, and Martha shivered at what a Time Lord-Human baby would be like. The Doctor, however, seemed adamant that the baby would be a full Time Lord, and Kayla was going along with this line of thinking, though Martha did often wonder if she believed him or if she was just humoring him.

Martha also often wondered if she and Kayla would ever be the good friends that the Doctor seemed to want them to be. The moments with the brunette were tense, to say the least, and while Martha sometimes felt as if they were becoming close once again, a heavy silence would settle between them once again, and Martha hated that. She had started to trust Kayla again and was completely ready to accept the apology Kayla had put to her, but every time she started to mention it, Kayla would make an excuse and hurry off.

So when Kayla mentioned, in a completely causal tone, that they weren’t married, Martha could only stare at the couple and gasp out, “What?”

The brunette looked at Martha. “We’re not married,” she repeated with a slight shrug. “We just haven’t found the time.”

“But you guys have known each other-“

“For at least a few years,” Kayla interrupted. “It just hasn’t happened.” At the horrified expression Martha was giving her, Kayla felt the need to put in, “We’re engaged though.”

Martha shook her head. “That’s not the same thing.”

Kayla once again shrugged. “It’s not like we need to be married. We know we love each other.”

Still in complete shock, Martha didn’t even notice Kayla leave until she started to speak to the suddenly absent woman. Shaking her head, Martha turned on her heel and started to hunt down the Doctor in the vain hope that he had more sense about this.

* * *

She wasn’t surprised to see the Time Lord instantly flush and drop his screwdriver at her question about his marital status. He fumbled to pick it up, but kept having it slip through his fingers. After about ten times of it slipping, Martha huffed and got down next to him and picked it up and handed it to the Doctor. For a moment, she thought the Time Lord was going to drop it again, but he instead clutched it tightly and hurriedly got his feet. Martha quickly did the same, mentally cursing for the heat she could feel on her cheeks. She backed up slightly and, for a moment, thought about just walking out, leaving the moment as one of the more awkward ones with the Doctor, but she didn’t. Instead she crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow and asked, once again, “Are you and Kayla married?”

“We’re engaged,” the Doctor seemed to squeak out.

Martha shook her head. “That’s not the same thing,” she said, echoing her earlier words to Kayla.

To Martha, the Doctor always seemed very calm. While Daleks and those he loved getting in danger made him upset and angry, he always calmed down by the time they reached the TARDIS. So when the Doctor whirled around and slammed down a lever, causing the TARDIS to jolt and make an angry humming noise, Martha was surprised by this behavior. She was even more surprised when the Doctor leaned on the console and said in a very low, cracking voice, “I know it’s not the same thing, Martha.”

Once again, Martha felt the urge to leave. She felt like she was balancing on some sort of ledge and one wrong word would make her fall and the Doctor to start yelling at her. But she swallowed those feelings and instead said in a voice that sounded bolded than she actually felt, “Do something about it.”

She faintly heard the Doctor growl. “I _can’t.”_ He snapped.

Martha frowned. “Why not?

The Doctor turned suddenly and stared at her. “A Time Lord marriage _has_ to be witnessed by another Time Lord. Otherwise it isn’t even an actual marriage. I was hoping that the Time Lord genes would go over Kayla’s, make our kid full Time Lord. But the TARDIS has been running scans and,” the Doctor cut himself off to shake his head, “It’s half. I was so sure that it would be all Time Lord…” Closing his eyes the Doctor turned away from Martha and instead faced the console.

For a long moment, Martha watched the Doctor’s back. From all the years of her parents fighting while she was a teenager, she was good at spotting when someone was crying, even if they were hiding it. Feeling tears go to her eyes, Martha walked over to the Doctor and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“You need to tell Kayla,” Martha said in a soft voice.

The Doctor shook his head. “I can’t stress her out like that, not with the baby coming.”

“It’ll only hurt her more if you wait,” Martha pressed on.

“I can’t risk it Martha. She’s…she’s already weakening. All Time Ladies do during the final bit. I’ve never seen it happen so early.”

Martha nodded slightly at that. She had noticed Kayla’s developing tendency to not stand next to the Doctor but sit somewhere near him or to hang back during the piloting and only help when the Doctor needed it. She hadn’t really questioned it, writing it off as Kayla’s pregnant belly had reached that horrible point where it was too big to do anything, but this information made more sense to her. Kayla still had quite a few months left of her pregnancy.

“Okay,” Martha sighed, “I won’t tell her. Not until she’s given birth. But if you haven’t told her after that, then _I_ will.”

The Doctor nodded. “I will tell her, Martha, I will. Just…”

“Not right now,” she finished, and then shook her head. “What is with you Time Lords and secrets?”

The Doctor gave a slight smile. “Gallifrey was full of them. It’s only right for Kayla and I to carry on the tradition.”

“I guess that means my parents are Time Lords too,” Martha said with a bitter laugh.

Awkwardly, as if he was being required to do it, the Doctor patted Martha on the shoulder. “I’m sorry you had to grow up around all that.”

Martha shrugged, “It is what it is. Nothing I can really do about it.”

“That doesn’t change that it’s a horrible thing,” the Doctor protested.

Martha sighed. “I know, but it’s easier to say that it’s just a thing.” Shaking her head, she moved away from the Doctor and started for the corridors. “I’m going to go study.”

“Study what?”

Martha rolled her eyes and turned around to face the Doctor. “Just because I’m in a time machine does not mean I can slack off on my studies. At some point I’m going to leave you guys and you’ll have to find someone else to play secret keeper.” Turning back around, she headed off.

Behind her, the Doctor looked down at the console and nodded slightly. “Right,” he said in a low voice.


	23. Human Nature Pt. 1

Kayla Smith awoke to the early morning sun drifting across her face. At first, she tried to ignore it by squeezing her eyes and turning over, but a firm kick from the child growing inside made her face the unpleasant truth that she was up for the rest of the day. Next to her, her darling husband, John Smith, was still asleep. The blue stripped pajamas he wore were mussed from the night’s rest, making the brunette frown. Ever since they had arrived at Farringham School for Boys, John’s sleep had been taking a toll. At first, Kayla had put it down to stress. She was heavily pregnant and they were just making do with the income that John made. Farringham had been nice enough to allow them to sleep in some of the spare quarters they had, but it was obviously made for one person to reside in it, and it certainly was no place to raise a newborn. The quarters, however, were a blessing. The money they would have spent on a house in the village center nearby was instead saved, giving them a nice bit a money before they actually went and bought a place.

A small jerk from John made Kayla frown down at her husband, her earlier musing forgotten in favor of checking on him. She was not pleased, and not surprised, to see a slight frown on his face. She reached down and gently took his hand and gave it a squeeze. It had been her late father’s technique to calm her, during those…dark times. John relaxed, but only slightly. He jerked once more and then, startling Kayla, his eyes popped open and he looked around the surrounding area until he saw her. He smiled faintly and relaxed completely.

“Did I wake you?” he asked.

Kayla gave frowned and allowed her hand to move from his. “No, I was already awake.” She gave her stomach a slight pat. “ _He_ decided to wake me up.”

John sat up slightly and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I still stand by my belief that our child will by a girl.”

“A very feisty girl than,” Kayla pointed out.

“But a girl nonetheless,” John finished.

The two lapsed into a comfortable silence. Kayla occasionally rubbed her belly while John blinked the sleep out of his eyes and started to prepare mentally for the day. Just as John was swinging his legs over the bed and setting them on the floor, there was a knock on the door. Kayla got up, pulled on a robe and called in a clear voice, “Come in, Martha.”

The door opened and Martha Smith, their maid, stepped into it with a tray of breakfast in hand. Martha eyes’ went to John instantly and she blushed. “Pardon me, Mr. Smith, you're not dressed yet. I can come back later-“

Kayla was the one that spoke. “Nonsense, Martha. You’ve been our maid for a long time. Go ahead and put the tray down.” Not waiting for the reply, Kayla went over to her husband’s robe and held it, waiting for John to get to his feet so she could put it on for him, but he seemed lost in thought.

From the middle of the room, a clatter came as Martha placed the tray down on a table and backed away from it, her eyes respectfully on the floor. All the while, John made no move to get up and put his robe on, causing Kayla to move over to him and take his hand. “Are you alright my darling?”

John looked at her, a puzzled expression on his face. “Sometimes I have these extraordinary dreams,” he admitted.

Kayla frowned. “You’ve had extraordinary dreams since you were a child, John.”

He shook his head. “There’s something different about these.”

“What’s different about them?”

John frowned and looked down at their hands. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was Martha pulling back the curtain and tidying up. Finally, John spoke. “I dream I'm this...This...daredevil, a madman. 'The Doctor,’ I'm called.” He looked up at his wife’s worried face. “And last night I dreamt that you were there, as my...my… _lover.”_

Kayla blinked, her eyes widening at what John was implying. “Lover?” she managed to ask. “John, we’re married. Of course we’re… _that.”_

John shook his head. “We weren’t married, yet you were still pregnant.”

Kayla swallowed hard. “What else was in this dream?”

“We had a companion,” John said.

Kayla nodded, pleased to see that they were moving from the uncomfortable topic. “Who was this companion?”

“It was Martha.”

At her name, Martha turned, startled. She looked over at Kayla and John, who were both looking at her. “Me, sir?” she asked in a timid voice. In answer, John nodded.

Kayla was the first to break the uneasy silence that had fallen in the room by laughing slightly. “A teacher, a housemaid, and his lover who’s also his wife,” she shook her head and gave John a smile. “Your imagination never ceases to amaze me.”

John gave her a tender smile in return. “I’m glad that it makes you happy, Kayla.”

Getting to her feet, Kayla walked over to a chair and sat down while John walked over to the mantle and picked up an old silver fob watch. “A man from another world, though...” he murmured as he looked at the circle that were etched into it.

“There’s no such thing, John,” Kayla pointed out.

John Smith nodded. “You’re right, Kayla. But this watch…” he voiced trailed off as he ran his hand over the surface. He seemed as if he was about to speak once more, but he only shook his head and set it down before facing his wife and Martha with an easy grin. “Ah, it's funny how dreams slip away,” he said with a shake of his head. “But I do remember one thing; it all took place in the future. In the year of Our Lord two thousand and seven.”

Kayla blinked and rubbed her stomach almost thoughtfully. “Far in the future,” she said in a soft voice. Taking the newspaper that Martha had brought in, she showed the front page to her husband. “November tenth, nineteen thirteen. You’re completely human,” she said.

John nodded and went over to sit in the matching chair next to her. “Completely human,” he echoed in agreement.

* * *

School settled into its morning routine as it always did; the younger boys were in their classes while the older boys who had chosen to forgone a morning class were walking around the school or eating some food in the nearby village. As she always did, Kayla took the opportunity to walk through the campus and survey the school. The boys who went to Farringham were neat in everything they did. They had to be, for the school was preparing them for the crown’s military. Many of them, Kayla knew from her husband’s bemoaning, took it all as a joke.

Though Kayla had no personal experience in the military, she always thought of the same image when warfare was brought up. She would see herself in an entirely inappropriate outfit; an outfit made for a man and a man only. Her hair was cut short in this image, and she was never alone. There was a man with a similar hair color grinning at her and, very rarely, a blond haired man was near them. Kayla had no name to give to these faces, but they always came to her mind when John mentioned the fighting or she heard the gunshots in the yard as the boys trained.

Hearing the distant noise of two familiar voices, Kayla shook herself out of her musings to walk towards it. Her pace started to pick up until she was holding her skirts to a height that would be frowned upon and practically running on the floors. Had anyone seen her, she would have been highly embarrassed. Thankfully, no one did. But by the time she reached the voices, she was panting and her cheeks had a flush to them that was not appropriate.

But the two women who the voices belonged to did not mind, something that Kayla knew. She couldn’t help but grin down at Martha and her fellow maid, Jenny. The two were scrubbing the floor and had paused in their conversation when they saw Kayla.

“Morning ma’am,” Martha said in a polite voice.

“Good morning Martha,” Kayla said in the same stiff, polite voice.

The two stared at each other for a long moment, both daring each other to break the silence with a laugh. Martha was the one to break. She snorted quietly and then blushed.

Jenny, who had been watching the pair with interest, shook her head and returned to scrubbing the floors. “You two are the oddest people here,” she informed them.

The sound of footsteps caused the three to pause and look at the corridor they were coming from. Kayla smiled as she saw her husband walking down the corridor, a book in hand.

“Hello John,” Kayla greeted.

John slowed down briefly and murmured a greeting in return, but he quickly disappeared up the stairs. Used to this behavior, Kayla just shook her head.

“I take it back,” Jenny started, “He is, by far, the oddest person here.”

Kayla’s brow furrowed slightly. “He’s just like that sometimes. He’s honestly very kind and considerate.”

“He’s nice to me,” Martha put in. “Not everyone's that considerate, what with me being—“ she motioned to her face, clearly meaning the color of her skin.

“A Londoner?” Jenny asked, pretending to be oblivious.

Martha grinned at that. “Exactly. Good old London town!”

That set the trio into laughter. Kayla leaned against the wall. One hand went to her stomach and she rubbed it thoughtfully. “It’s so stupid,” she said suddenly with a shake of her head.

Martha looked up. “What is, ma’am?”

“That your skin somehow defines your worth.”

Martha blinked at her and then bit her lip. “It’s just how it is,” she responded dully.

“Well it isn’t right,” Kayla said, a determined note in her voice that was just daring anyone to argue you with her. Thankfully, no one did.

However, when two senior boys, Baines and Hutchinson, walked through the corridor and paused to look down at Martha and Jenny with a sneer on their faces, Kayla felt her back stiffen. She was often unnoticed by the older boys as it showed respect to John and their marriage. Most of the time, she didn’t really notice. All she did during the day was speak to Martha and occasionally help out in different departments who needed it. Her interactions with the boys were minimal at best.

But when the two stopped, Kayla just had an awful feeling that they were going to ridicule the two women, and she was right.

“Ah, now then, you two,” Baines said in an authoritative voice. Martha and Jenny stopped their laughter to look up at him. “You're not paid to have fun, are you. Put a little backbone into it,” he commanded.

Despite his age being so much younger than Martha’s and Jenny’s, they both looked down with shame written on both their faces. Jenny quickly replied, “Yes Sir, sorry, Sir.”

Kayla was about to sigh in relief and make a mental not to ask John to talk to Baines and hopefully make him apologized to Martha, as talking to her in such a way was rude, but Hutchinson stopped her plans when he looked over at Martha with clear disdain and said, “You there, what's your name again?”

“Martha, Sir. Martha Jones,” Martha replied, a slight frown on her face at the question.

“Tell me then, Jones. With hands like those, how can you tell when something's clean?” The two boys started to laugh at what Hutchinson had said and made to leave when Kayla cleared her throat. The two turned around, startled, and then paled some at the sight of John Smith’s wife.

The rumor mill had started when John arrived with his heavily pregnant wife. Everyone wanted to see her, to find out if she was real or just an illusion to tease the younger boys. For days, the boys would stop by their room to ask a question to John. Her poor husband didn’t seem to notice that once they noticed her, the visiting boy would forget their question and hurry out. Thankfully it was quickly determined that she was, indeed, an actual female who was living at the school. But then the boys started to talk. Some claimed that she had given them ‘tutoring’ and that she was ‘extra friendly.’ Others said that they had come in on her wearing less than proper clothing, or no clothing at all.

The rumors continued until someone made the mistake of saying one of them when John was nearby. The boy who had said it was a young child, but that did not save him from John’s anger. Kayla still remembered his face as he apologized for the comments. She had forgiven him easily, how could she not? He was just a child. And thankfully, John made sure that no more rumors were spread about her; the stories of what John would do spread quicker than the rumors about her. The older boys naturally stepped up in a more mature role and admitted that they had been trying to diffuse the rumors and that they would make sure that none of the younger boys got any ideas.

For the most part, Kayla took them at face value. Part of her knew, as any woman in her position did, that the older boys had done much more of the fantasizing as the younger boys. But it made John happy, so she went along with it.

However, she had always disliked the two boys that were standing in front of her, Hutchinson and Baines. They had smiled at all the right times, frowned at all the right times, and punished the boys in all he right ways to make John pleased. Usually she would have turned the other way, but when the two said that how they acted was in John’s name after one of the boys had been found under the floorboards, terrified and crying and bruised, Kayla felt that her husband’s name should be nowhere near that act. She had no reason way; John had served in wars and committed far more violent acts, but the boy was a child who Kayla knew never spread rumors about her.

Ever since that action against the boy, Kayla had been watching the two carefully. Hutchinson and Baines had to be aware, for they were not unintelligent young men. So as their faces paled at the sight of her, a disapproving frown on her face, she took grim satisfaction that John would be displeased when he heard about what disgusting comments they had said to poor Martha.

“Where are you supposed to be?” she asked in a voice sharper than her usual soft one.

Hutchinson was the one that answered, “We have an off-period, ma’am.”

Kayla nodded. “And what is your next period?”

Once again, Hutchinson answered, “History.”

“With my husband, correct?” At the nods from both boys, Kayla addressed them in a stern manner, making sure they would not question her, “You will tell my husband that you insulted Martha, who belongs in _our_ household, and then you will ask for a way to make it up to her.” She waited until she was sure that her demand was understood and then she gave a nod and turned to Martha. She briefly caught the black woman smiling up at her but it disappeared quickly. “Martha, will you help me back to my quarters?”

Martha quickly got to her feet and took Kayla’s arm. “Yes ma’am.” Holding her in a manner that offered support, Martha walked slowly with Kayla back to her quarters.

* * *

Once they were in the rooms and the door was closed, Kayla collapsed back onto the sofa and shook her head. “Those boys will one day be in charge of the world and they don’t understand common empathy.” She shook her head. “I am so sorry for what they said to you, Martha.”

Martha, who was standing near the couch, gave Kayla a fond smile. “It’s okay, ma’am. Not many would have told them to apologize,” she said in a soft voice.

Kayla sighed at that and then rubbed her stomach, a fond expression on her face. “I hope my child will grow up in far better world than this.”

“I’m sure he will, ma’am,” Martha agreed, her tone changing slightly.

Looking up, Kayla frowned at the odd expression on Martha’s face. “Are you alright?”

Blinking, Martha gave Kayla a quick smile. “I’m okay, ma’am.” She paused and then looked towards the door and then back at her.

Kayla nodded, understanding the silent question. “Go back to your duties, Martha. And apologize to Jenny for me. I should not have taken you away.”

Martha nodded and, with a soft, “Thank you ma’am,” she headed quickly out, leaving Kayla alone.

* * *

It was near noon when Kayla, who was preparing to go down to help out with the serving of lunch, was interrupted by Matron Joan Redfern hurrying in with a stack of John’s books clutched under one arm. John was in front of her and was rubbing at his head and wincing. Kayla was on her feet as soon as she took in the scene.

“John?” she asked, concern heavy in her voice. “Are you alright?” She turned her gaze to Joan, who was placing the books down on a table. “What happened?”

Kayla and Joan were fairly good friends. Kayla had gone to Joan for help with the pregnancy and the two had bonded over time. Kayla had offer to help her out with some of the more emotional issues with the boys, who became homesick more times than any would ever let on, but Joan had said that she rather deal with the boys alone.

Still, Kayla had become good at reading the woman’s face. She could read right through the wane smile that Joan gave her and knew that the rushed reply of, “He’s fine,” was just to placate her.

Kayla crossed her arms as Joan pulled a chair out and motioned for John to sit in it, which he promptly did. He had dealt with Joan before, when he had gotten sick with a nasty cold that turned to a fever. After all the whining he did, reviling some of the worse of the younger boys, Joan had become very stern with John. The method worked and Kayla was thankful to see that John had obeyed without making a fuss. Her stressed out nerves from the mysterious ailment that had befallen her husband would not be able to take him whining.

Joan had John bend over and started to pick at the hair on the back of his head, lifting it up to peer down at it.

“John?” Kayla repeated. “What happened to you?”

John waved a hand. “I’m fine, Kayla,” he promised. “I just fell down the stairs. Nothing to be worried about.”

“You fell down the stairs?” Kayla echoed. “How did you do that?”

John opened his mouth to answer but interrupted himself with a groan and then frowned heavily. Joan, however, smiled. She bent down and grabbed a small rag from her battered doctor’s bag. Leaving him briefly, she came back with the rag, which was now damp, and started to dab at a spot on the back of John’s head.

“It’s just a little cut,” she assured Kayla without looking up from her work. “I’ll just clean it and it should be fine.”

Kayla sent the other woman a small smile. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. “And sorry for all his complaining,” she added in.

As if to give credence to this apology, John groaned loudly in the chair.

Joan shook her head and hit him lightly on the ear. “Stop it. I get boys causing less fuss than this,” she tried to say in a stern voice, but the slight smile on her lips gave her position of mirth away.

“It hurts!” John whined.

The door suddenly burst opened. Kayla whirled around, startled. She relaxed slightly at the sight of Martha hurrying in, her eyes wide with clear concern. “Is he alright?” she asked in a rushed voice.

Joan looked up from where she was behind John and sent Martha a disapproving look. “Excuse me, Martha. It's hardly good form to enter a master's study without knocking,” she reprimanded.

Kayla bristled at what Joan had said. She had no right to reprimand Martha, as she was John’s and her maid, not Joan’s. Sending her quick, sharp look that she didn’t seem to notice, Kayla said in a cool voice, “It is good form, Martha, for being concerned for your employer.”

Martha looked over at Kayla, her brow furrowed slightly. Opening her mouth to speak, Kayla cut her off by shaking her head. Thankfully getting the message, Martha nodded and looked over at John. “They said you fell down the stairs, Sir,” she informed him.

Like he had done with Kayla, John waved a hand in a clear dismissal. “No, it was just a tumble, that's all,” he mumbled.

Martha looked over at Joan and crossed her arms. “Have you checked for concussion?” she asked, her voice taking on a more formal tone.

Slightly taken aback by the question, Kayla looked over at Martha. As far as she was aware, Martha had no medical training except for a few basic child books she had been reading in preparation for the baby. Kayla had also read those books and knew that it never mentioned anything about concussions. While it was common knowledge that a bad hit on the head could lead to a concussion, it still was a strange question that Martha immediately jumped to.

Joan also seemed taken aback by the question. Peering up at Martha, she replied rather sharply, “I have. And I daresay I know a lot more about it than you.”

Kayla looked over at Martha in time to see her stance herself in an almost defensive pose, but then she paused. She looked down at her dress and straightened the apron on it and nodded. “Sorry. I'll just...” she looked hastily over at John and Kayla and started to back away to a table behind her, “Tidy your things,” she finished.

John shrugged lightheartedly and started to speak to Kayla. “I was just telling Nurse Redfern about my dreams. They are quite remarkable tales.”

Kayla hummed in agreement and looked over at Joan. “Did he mention that he’s been having these dreams every night?” She asked. Her thought process was proven correct by Joan shaking her head.

Looking down at John, Joan paused in her work. “You dream the same dream every night?”

John nodded, his face starting to flush at all the attention at the dreams he had long ago decided that were unimportant. Kayla had tried to get him to talk to Joan when they had started but he had always brushed her off. This was, obviously, her one chance to make sure that her husband was okay.

“What are these dreams?” Joan prompted.

John shook his head and laughed. “I keep imagining that I'm someone else,” he admitted. “This is going to sound silly—“ he warned.

Joan just crossed her arms. “Tell me.”

John sighed. “I dream, quite often, that I have two hearts.”

Blinking, Joan looked up at Kayla, who nodded. Joan’s eyes widened slightly at the serious expression on the brunette’s face. Kayla knew that Joan probably thought that John was joking. It would not be the first time he had done something like that. But Kayla had always made sure that Joan, or whoever he was joking to, was aware that it was a joke. So when Kayla made sure to keep her face completely serious, she knew it conveyed the correct message that this was no joke.

More than a bit confused, Joan reached into her battered and worn doctor’s bag and drew out a stethoscope. Giving John a slight smile, she placed the stethoscope against the left side of his chest and listened intently. Then, she moved it over and listened to the right side. Nodding to herself, she pulled away. “I can confirm the diagnosis-- just one heart, singular.”

John laughed and looked over at Kayla, who gave him a smile that didn’t really go to her eyes. For some reason, she felt like this was a mistake, that he was supposed to have two hearts. Shaking her head at her own silliness, she walked over to the chair closest to Joan and John and sat down in it.

“I have written down some of these dreams in the form of fiction...um...not that it would be of any interest…” he voice trailed off and he looked down, suddenly embarrassed about his journal.

Kayla shook her head. “He’s not being entirely honest, Joan. His writing is amazing. Truly, one of the best things I have ever read.”

John gave Kayla a fond smile and got to his feet. “I’ve never shown it to anyone but Kayla,” he informed Joan as he walked over to his desk. Withdrawing a dark brown, leather bound notebook. A few of the pages were more worn than others, showing that John had taken longer on them than the others. The seam in the middle was no longer holding as well, so the book itself was hardly closed. But it was clearly well cared for, and that was only underlined by how carefully John gave the journal to Joan.

Picking up how much he cared for the book, Joan took a seat next to Kayla and opened the first page of the journal. She looked down at the handwriting and smiled slightly as she read aloud, “'Journal of Impossible Things.’” Generally, she turned the pages and looked at the mixture of writing and drawings that littered them. A room filled with items that were far too futuristic to comprehend. A detailed sketch of a man in a gas mask that, from the notes, was unable to remove it.

“The creatures are quite amazing, aren’t they?” Kayla asked with a smile to John, who had taken a seat across from the two. Joan just nodded, her mouth slightly open as she continued to read through the pages.

There was a creature that all John had written about was how deadly they were. It had a whisk like appendage that John had circled with a note that it killed somehow. “Such imagination,” Joan murmured as she read the details on…whatever it was.

John nodded. “Mmm. It's become quite a hobby,” he admitted.

Kayla gave John a teasing smile. “Every single night,” she reminded him, which made him shrug sheepishly.

More pages of the journal were turned. There were creatures made out of something called plastic, a little creature whose face was small and scrunched up, and then there was a mask that looked like it was from renaissance France, but underneath was a creature that seemed to be made out of a clock!

Joan flipped the next page and looked up at Kayla. “Oh my, it’s so similar to you,” she gasped. Kayla looked over and blushed, seeing the sketch that John had done of her shortly after the two had moved to the school. Kayla had been a bit down at the time and John had so wanted to her see her smile. As Kayla looked down at the image, she saw the distant look in her eyes that John had captured and how her smile was slightly sad.

Joan seemed to notice this too and she looked over at Kayla. “You’re so…sad,” she said in a soft voice.

Realizing what image they were looking at, John looked down at his hands. “It made her smile,” he explained.

“Anything you do, love, makes me smile,” Kayla vowed.

Joan cleared her throat slightly, feeling as if she was intruding on a moment between the couple. She turned the page to see another sketch of a face, this one of a female with a rather cruel expression, marring what would be a pretty face. Kayla looked over and grinned. “That’s Rose,” she explained. “She’s-“

“A horrible, horrible person,” John practically snapped. Kayla looked at him, on slightly shocked. She knew that John strongly disliked that creation of his, but so far he had not spoken so…strongly about it.

Joan also seemed taken aback and quickly turned the next page before the silence that had fallen got too uncomfortable. In the corner, she peered down at an image of a box of some sort. It had a light bulb on top and doors that opened to a space that was far larger than the outside. On the page next to it, a far more detailed sketch revealed its color to be blue.

John, seeing some of the sketches, changed from the slight sulk to a very happy smile. “Ah, that's the box, the blue box, it's always there. Like a...like a magic carpet, this funny little box that transports me to far away places.” As he explained, a small frown formed on his face. “It gets very lonely though. Sometimes I dream I’m in the box just by myself no Kayla and no Martha.”

Kayla took John’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “They’re just dreams,” she reminded him.

John nodded. “It feels very real though,” he murmured.

Joan turned the page and looked down at the mess of handwriting. The only thing she could make out was the littering of faces, all male and ranging in age, that was behind the writing.

“I sometimes think how magical life would be if things like this were true,” John said in a soft voice.

“If only,” Kayla replied with a small smile.

John laughed softly. “It’s just a dream,” he echoed.

Looking up to grin at the couple, Joan turned the next page to reveal a detail image of a pocket watch adorned with circles. No one seemed to realize that the exact pocket watch was sitting on the mantle in that room. Nor, did anyone realize that John had dreamed about it that night.

No one, that is, except for Martha, who had been watching the exchange between Kayla, John, and Joan with a slightly wistful expression. But then the bell rang and the exchange was over.

* * *

That night, Kayla found herself bundled up tightly in a coat that, once long ago, had fit her but now was too small for her pregnant belly. But it was the warmest coat she had, and she very much needed it that night. In the distance, she could see the lights of the pub that John and the other teachers often went to. Martha had mentioned to her that she and Jenny were planning on going over there that night and had, kindly, extended an invitation to her. Most would deem it improper or even indecent for Kayla, the employer, to go and eat with Martha, the employee, but Kayla saw no reason to see it that way. Martha was a dear friend and would help her raise her child.

“Ooh, it's freezing out here! Why can't we have a drink inside the pub?” At Martha’s familiar voice, Kayla sped up her walking. She could hear Jenny laughing in response and admonishing Martha for her modern opinion.

“It's all very well those Suffragettes; but that's London, that's miles away,” she was saying as Kayla walked up to them.

Martha spotted her first. Her face broke into a wide grin and she waved at the brunette. “I didn’t actually think you would come,” she admitted.

Jenny turned and her eyes widened. “Ma’am!” She looked over at Martha, who rolled her eyes and just shook her head at her friend’s reaction.

“Hello Jenny,” Kayla greeted. “Martha said I could join you two tonight, but if I’m imposing…” her voice trailed off uncertainly as she waited for the maid to response.

Once again, Jenny looked over at Martha. Martha nodded firmly, which made Jenny blink but then turned back to Kayla and smile, though it seemed slightly forced. “Of course, ma’am.”

Kayla sighed. “I’m just Kayla, Jenny. You don’t have to call me ma’am.”

The trio of women sat down at the table. Martha went and got some hot drinks and they were soon talking and laughing with each other despite how clearly nervous Jenny was at Kayla’s presence.

Martha looked up at the sky during a lag in the conversation and sighed. “Just look up there. Imagine you could go all the way out to the stars,” she breathed out, a dreamy expression on her face.

“You’ve been reading John’s book too much,” Kayla said with a shake of her head.

Martha just continued to stare up at the stars. “It’s not his book, really, it’s just the idea,” she explained. “It would be wonderful to be free to go do _anything.”_

Jenny nodded at that. “It would be.”

“One day,” Martha said in a softer voice, “I’m going to go into the sky. That's where I'm going. Just all the way out.”

Jenny laughed loudly. “You don't half say mad things!”

Kayla, however, had a thoughtful expression on her face. She looked up at the sky and blinked at it hesitantly, taking in the stars. “Perhaps it might one day be possible to walk among the stars.”

Martha looked over at her. In the darkness, Kayla didn’t see her eyes widened. “I’m only talking silly, ma’am,” she said quickly.

Kayla turned away from the stars with a sigh. “Martha, please don’t call me ma’am.”

Martha laughed slightly at that. But all humor escaped her when a green light flared in the sky. The trio all looked up and watched as the light shot across the school and into the nearby woods, almost brushing the trees as it disappeared.

“Did you see that?” Martha breathed.

“It was beautiful,” Kayla said.

Jenny looked at the two. “See what? There's nothing there.”

“But you were looking at the sky,” Kayla pointed out. “Surely you must have seen it.”

Jenny just shook her head. “I’m sorry ma’am, but no.”

Opening her mouth to once again ask to not be called ‘ma’am,’ Kayla cut herself off at the sound of quickly approaching footsteps. She turned to see Joan hurrying up the path looking frightened.

“Joan, are you alright?” Kayla asked, taking a step forwards to meet the woman.

Joan shook her head. “Did you see that? There was something in the woods...this light...”

“A green light?” Kayla questioned, and Joan nodded.

Turning to talk to Martha, the door of the pub opened and the light from inside flooded out. John stepped out and took in the scene in front of him. “Kayla, what are you doing out here? You could get ill!” he said as soon as he saw his wife.

Kayla took John’s hand and gave him a fond smile. “It’s fine, dear,” she assured. “I-“

“There!” At Joan’s cry, everyone looked to see her pointing to the sky. “There, look at the sky!”

As the group did, the green light from earlier flew across the sky.

“That’s beautiful,” Jenny breathed.

John nodded. “There...orgom. Commonly known as a meteorite. It's just rocks falling to the ground, that's all,” he explained.

“It came down in the woods,” Joan said, frowning at the trees in question.

John shook his head. “No, no no, they always look close, when actually they're miles off. Nothing left but a cinder,” he corrected. “Now, I need to escort my lovely wife back to the school before she becomes sick,” he informed the others with a squeeze of his hand. “Would anyone else like to join us?”

As no one seemed to be jumping on the offer, Martha replied, “No, we're fine, thanks.”

“Then I shall bid you goodnight.” Not wanting Kayla to be out any longer, John quickly got her walking with him towards the school.


	24. Human Nature Pt. 2

_Kayla was standing in a room. Somehow she easily placed it as the console room in the TARDIS despite knowing that she had never been in such a place and that the room didn’t even exist except in her husband’s imagination. Still, she was in that room and she found herself to be curiously anxious. There was a weight in the air only matched by the worried weight in her chest. She placed a hand on her stomach and relaxed slightly at the familiar feeling. At least she was still pregnant in this dream._

_The doors suddenly opened, causing her to turn quickly to face the open door. Her face grew pale as she saw Martha, not wearing her maid uniform but something far less appropriate and her husband dressed in a pin striped suit. She nodded slightly to herself as she took in their less than natural appearance. This was her over-active imagination giving her a dream in the world that John had created._

_But…why did it feel so real? Why did she hear herself tense at the voice of John, far angrier than she had ever heard it, cry out, “Look out!” And, why did she drop to the floor at the cry without a second thought only to get up mere moments later as the doors to the machine closed without anyone touching them._

_Suddenly, it felt like they were flying. Yet Kayla was not as in shock as she ought to have felt at the flight. It seemed natural, she would later realize, that the machine was flying; just like it felt natural for her to be standing next to John – the Doctor, really – and helping him fly it. She heard him growl in anger. “They’re following us!”_

_It seemed entirely correct for her to reply with, “They’re never going to stop, are they? That’s got to be Time Agent technology.” She felt a flash of anger go through her at the thought of someone using whatever ‘Time Agent technology’ was._

_John nodded, his brow furrowing in obvious worry. “Right across the universe,” he said in a soft voice. Suddenly, high and stressed out energy once more, he spun and faced Martha, staring at her intently. “Martha, do you trust us?”_

_Martha blinked and then nodded. “I do.”_

_For a moment, despite the worry that she was feeling, Kayla felt as if she might cry. For some reason, the fact that Martha trusted them, that Martha trusted her, meant…something._

_John, though, didn’t pause like Kayla would have. Instead, he nodded. “Good, ‘cause  it all depends on you.”_

_He turned and held out two fob watches. Kayla paused as she recognized both of them. She was sure that she had seen one of them, the one in John’s right hand, on the mantle of the fireplace yesterday. And the one in his left, Kayla was very sure that she had seen it a few days ago when John was using it as a paper weight._

_“Martha,” John started in a serious voice, “these watches are Kayla and I.”_

_Martha took the watches from him and then frowned. “...Right, okay, gotcha...No, hold on! Completely lost!” She looked up to see him on the other side of the console._

_Kayla, who was shocked by his quick movements, hurried over to him. She heard Martha run over and turned to face her. “The creatures following us are hunters,” Kayla started, though she honestly had no clue how she knew this information. “They can sniff out anyone.”_

_John, fussing around with something, poked his head out to add on. “With us being Time Lords, well, we’re unique. They can track us down across the whole of time and space.”_

_Martha laughed nervously. “And the good news is?”_

_“They can smell us, but they haven’t seen us,” Kayla said with a cross of her arms. “Their lives’ are bound to be running out-“_

_“So we hide,” John interrupted. “Wait for them to die.”_

_Martha’s brow furrowed. She looked in between the two and then shook her head. “But they can track us down.”_

_Now finished with what he was working on, John watched in complete apprehension as what appeared to be a headset of sorts lowered from the ceiling. Kayla, though she truly did not know what it was, felt a pang of fear. She took John’s arm and squeezed it, her breath hitching._

_“Will it be safe?” She heard herself ask, “For the baby, I mean.”_

_John looked down and then sighed. “It was made for pregnant Time Ladies.” He paused to swallow hard, “There was a war before the Time War that got bad. It was a civil war. Everyone thought that Gallifrey would be above that sort of thing, but we weren’t. A lot…” John looked down. Sensing how difficult this was for him to talk about, Kayla took his hand. He gave her a small, sad smile. “A lot of Time Ladies from the noble houses were targeted. My mother was one of them. My father feared for her life, so he created the Chameleon Arch. It changes the DNA of a Time Lord…and the baby.”_

_Kayla rubbed her stomach, a frown forming on her face. “And if we’re still human when I give birth?”_

_John took both her hands, a sudden sense of urgency. “That will not happen.” He turned to face Martha, an expression on his face so strong that she took a step back. “If we’re still human and she’s about to give birth, you need to wake us up. I don’t care how close they are to us, you have to change us back.” He moved forwards until his hands were on both of her shoulders. “Promise me Martha.”_

_Martha nodded quickly. “I promise.”_

_Moving away from her, John moved back to the strange headset, which Kayla had almost forgotten about, and placed her pocket watch inside. He turned to face her. “It will be…easier,” the word came out have choked, but he pressed on, “If you go first.”_

_Kayla nodded. She stepped over to the headset but paused. Grabbing him by his tie, something she would never do now, she kissed him deeply. “I love you,” she said in a soft voice. “We will get through this.”_

_John rested his forehead against hers. For a brief, silent moment, they stayed like that. But all too soon, Kayla took a step back from her husband and stood still as he strapped her into the headset. She felt a tear slide down on her cheek, but John brushed it away before it could travel far._

_“It’ll be over before you know it.”_

_With the promise still ringing through her, Kayla felt John turned the Chameleon Arch on and then nothing but blinding red pain. She faintly heard her screaming in the background and a worried Martha cry out, “Doctor! That can’t be right!”_

* * *

With a gasp, Kayla jerked awake. It was morning and for a moment, she was blinded by the sun. She looked around for John and felt a brief stab of panic. Perhaps the people who were hunting them had found him…

Shaking her head, she laughed at her own silliness. It was a Saturday morning, and John always went on walks in the morning on Saturdays. He would likely laugh at her dream when she told him; comment on her over-active imagination. And already, the dream, which is all that it was, was starting to fade.

Pulling on a robe, Kayla frowned as she felt a weight in the pocket of it. Reaching in, she pulled out a shiny silver fob watch. It was quite similar to the watch in her dream; she could feasibly call it almost identical. For a brief moment she thought about opening it, but a brief lift to her ear made her laugh. The watch was broken; there was nothing special about it.

Still laughing, Kayla placed the fob watch on top of John’s and went about the rest of the morning preparations. Martha was out for the day, having asked to go for a long bike ride. She had done this a few times already and each time Kayla had told her that she didn’t need to ask permission to go for a bike ride. Exercise was good for the soul and something that doctors were recommending more and more, and it was a day when there wasn’t really anything Martha could do. The boys always scattered on these mornings, which was why John would take the opportunity to go for walks. He had such little time to himself.

* * *

It was in the afternoon when John finally remembered to warn her that Timothy was stopping by to pick up a book soon.

Kayla, who was reading a book, looked up at her husband. “Timothy Latimer?” She asked, her brow furrowing. “He’s not in trouble, is he? Some of those boys he’s with…” her voice trailed off as she thought about yesterday. “Baines made such a horrible comment to Martha.”

John nodded, though he didn’t look up from the little scrap of paper he was writing, as Joan still had his journal. “Is that why he and a friend apologized to me after class yesterday? I thought they had taken a leave of their senses. Going on about the ‘honor of your family’ and such.”

Kayla felt a blush rise to her cheek as she heard John repeat her words. Hearing it from him did make it sound a little much. “I went off on them a bit,” she admitted.

John looked over at her and then laughed. “It’s quite alright Kayla, there’s no need to feel bad,” he consoled her as he took in her flustered appearance. “Those two boys do have a bit of a, shall we say, ego problem.”

Getting up, Kayla sat down next to John and kissed him softly. “Thank you,” she said in a low voice. She rested her head on his shoulder, causing him to smile and kiss the top of her head. The two sat there like that for a while, Kayla on his shoulder and watching him write while the Doctor scribbled down some random words.

When he wrote the word, ‘TARDIS,’ however, Kayla started. “Oh! I forgot to tell you. I’m having strange dreams now too.” She said as she lifted her head to explain.

John looked at her, his brow furrowing. “Strange dreams?” he repeated, causing her to nod.

“Last night I dreamt that I was in the...console room I think you call it.” She shook her head. “It’s faded so much already, but I remember that you were there and so was Martha.”

For a moment, John looked torn between laughter and slight concern. The mirth won, however, so he fondly shook his head and chuckled lightly. “Your imagination is over-active.”

“I knew you would say that,” Kayla said victoriously, as if this proved some point.

Smiling at her, John reached over and kissed her gently on the lips. Though unplanned, the kiss started to deepen rather quickly. Soon Kayla was moving closer to him and one of his hands was tangling in her hair. Just as Kayla was trying to get even closer, a feat that was quite hard with her pregnant belly, there was a timid but very present knock on the door. John separated ever so slightly so he could look at a nearby clock. At the time, he groaned.

“That’s Timothy.”

Kayla looked over at the door. “You should let him in.”

John nodded, though his face clearly showed his displeasure at this. “I should,” he agreed.

Learning back towards her, John started to kiss her once more. Allowing it for a few seconds, Kayla pushed him away with a soft laugh at the pout he gave her. Another knock at the door prompted him to get up. Straightening the ceases in his suit while Kayla did the same to her hair, it took them a few seconds to be presentable. By the time John actually opened the door, poor Timothy had been waiting out there for nearly five minutes.

“You told me to come and collect that book, Sir,” he said promptly as John blinked down at him.

John stared at him for a few minutes and then nodded. “Good lad, yes.. yes! ‘The Definitive Account of Mafeking’ by Aitchison-Price, where did I put it?” Turning, John walked over to his busy desk and started to sort through all the papers and files and just general scraps.

Kayla sighed and got up. Walking past her husband, she went into the adjourning library. Searching through it with little difficulty, she came back out with the book and handed it to John.

“Hello Timothy,” she greeted the fidgeting boy. He was tall but clearly younger than most of the boys.

Still, Timothy had manners. He gave Kayla a smile and said, “Hello Ma’am.”

John handed the book off, but stopped Timothy from leaving with a sharp look and a well-placed, “I wanted a little word – your marks aren’t quite good enough.”

Timothy frowned. “I'm top ten in my class, sir,” he pointed out.

John just chuckled. “Now, be honest, Timothy. You should be the very top. You're a clever boy, but you seem to be hiding it.” Timothy looked down at this, causing John to nod to himself. “And I know why. Keeping your head low avoids the mockery of your classmates. But no man should hide himself, don't you think?”

Kayla walked over to John and placed an arm on his shoulder, causing him to look over at her. “You know,” Kayla started slowly, “I recall a young John Smith hiding his intellect. How many times did you nearly fail out of school?”

John laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close. “That is true. I was part of a group at school. The Deca they called us.” A fond smile spread across John’s face, making Kayla give him a kiss on the cheek. “A group of ten of the best students at the school I went to. We were all close. Even had little nicknames for each other.”

Kayla looked back at Timothy. It was the first time either of them had look over at the boy during their conversation. “The point is, Timothy, is that you should be proud of how clever you are. Maybe find some boys who are like you.” Leaning forwards a bit, Kayla dropped her voice to a bit louder than a whisper, “Baines and Hutchinson don’t own the school.”

Timothy looked up at Kayla. An expression of shock flashed across his face and for a moment, Kayla thought she saw a glint of gold in his eyes. But then it was gone. Kayla moved back to John and leaned against him.

“I hope you enjoy the book, Timothy,” Kayla said.

John nodded. “Fascinating details about the siege, really quite remarkable.”

Timothy gave John and Kayla a slight smile. “Thank you sir, ma’am.”

“It’s no problem, Timothy.” He paused and then added on, “And remember- use that brain of yours!” John gave him a pat on his shoulder. Oddly, the boy paled and stared at John, his eyes widening. Kayla felt herself move forwards.

“Timothy? Timothy are you alright?”

Seeming to shake himself out of it, the boy backed away slightly. “I’m fine ma’am.” Walking rather quickly, Timothy left the room.

As the door swung shut behind him, Kayla turned to John. “Does he normally act like that?”

John shook his head. “I’ve never seen him act like that,” he admitted. “But I’m sure he’s alright. He’s probably just tired. There’s a cold going around, you know. Baines has one, and he never gets sick.” He looked over at her, his expression becoming serious. “Be careful around him; I don’t want you to get sick while being pregnant.”

* * *

A few days later, Kayla found herself walking with John’s journal in hand. Joan had stopped her and had asked where John might be. When Kayla said that John would be practicing shooting with the boys, her face has gone ashen. Kayla had quickly reached out to her and asked her what’s wrong.

In a voice far colder than the one she usually used, Joan had practically snapped, “I was just thinking about the day my husband was shot.”

For a moment, as odd and silly as it was, Kayla had wanted to reply that she too had lost someone in a war. That she had been forced to leave someone behind for someone she loved, and when she thought she was close to finding him, she had lost him forever. Once again, the image of a man with similar hair to her and, now that she thought about it, similar features, flashed before her eyes. But she quickly shook the idea out of her head. It wasn’t true at all and it would just be mocking her loss.

But whether or not the feelings that a loss of a solider were real, Kayla had lost her parents only a year ago. She knew what the pain of loss of a loved on felt like, so she hurried towards Joan as she started to walk away from the target site and asked in a soft voice, “What was he liked?”

Joan looked over at Kayla and gave her a soft smile. “His name was Oliver,” she started.

* * *

Kayla and Joan had walked and spoken about their shared losses. They had left the school behind a long time ago and were now traveling through the countryside nearby. The fields they were passing were littered with ratty, old scarecrows. Some were leaning over as if they had been hit by a very hard breezing, but others were standing straight and proud. Judging by the birds that were in one of the pastures, it was clear that the scarecrows weren’t doing their job as well as they could be.

“Did you read the part about 1914?” Kayla asked, motioning to John’s journal still in her hand.

Joan nodded. “All those images of mud and wire,” she mused. “A great shadow falling across the entire world.”

Kayla couldn’t help but giggle a small bit. “It’s a bit dramatic.”

Joan made a noise of agreement. “Yes.” There was a pause in the conversation before she added, almost worried, “But I checked the details on some of the other things he mentioned. Things that were long ago. All the facts are correct!”

Kayla looked over at her, a frown forming on her face. “You don’t actually think that what he writes might be real?”

“It’s not entirely impossible,” Joan admitted, a slight blush on her face. “Some of the details he put in are being argued by historians currently.”

Kayla stopped walking, causing Joan to do the same. “Joan,” Kayla said slowly, “He’s a history teacher. History is his _passion,_ what he does every single day for work. But this journal, this journal is _not_ real. It’s a work of fiction.” Kayla placed a hand on Joan’s shoulder. “Don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’s real. That’s dangerous thinking.”

Joan frowned slightly. “How is it dangerous? It’s just fiction.”

Kayla shook her head. “I don’t know, it’s just a gut feeling.”

Joan nodded. The expression on her face became sour as she turned to look out over the fields. “I had a gut feeling the day Oliver…” she swallowed and paused, allowing Kayla to guess the ending to her sentence. “I was in the middle of writing a letter to him but I couldn’t write anything on it. I tried, but I just felt so ill.”

Turning away, Joan gave Kayla what seemed to be a reassuring look, but the sad expression on her face slightly ruined it. “I understand those kinds of feelings, Kayla. I believe you.”

* * *

It was far later that evening that Kayla found herself in an uncomfortable pale blue dress. It was ruffled down the front, as if trying to hide her pregnancy, but she was so large at this point that it did little of anything except looking slightly nice. But Kayla hated the dress. She felt like she was on display, like a glorified cake. A glorified, heavily pregnant, cake.

John, however, seemed absolutely floored by her dress. He had stared at her and then started to beam when he had first seen her in the dress and hadn’t stopped smiling since. It was making her blush at this point. She knew that John found her attractive, but he usually didn’t outright gape at her.

“Has your dancing improved at all since our wedding?” Kayla asked, a smile spreading as she recalled how horrible John had been when it came to their waltz. He kept tripping over his own shoes and was hardly able to actually keep to the beat.

John blinked at the question. “Um...I'm not certain...” he admitted with a nervous scratch at the back of his head.

Kayla giggled and kissed John on the cheek. “Don’t worry then. I doubt I’ll be able to dance very much anyways.”

John smiled at her. “I’ll enjoy every moment,” he promised.

 Leaning down he started to kiss her gently when the door burst open, causing Kayla and John to jump apart and stare at the door, both in shock.

“They’ve found us.”

“Martha?” Kayla asked, a frown forming at the woman’s terrified expression.

Martha shook her head. “They've found us, and I've seen them- they look like people, like us, like normal. I'm sorry, but you've got to open the watches.” Hurrying into the room, she grabbed a fob watch off a bedside table and then headed to the mantle. Her expression changed to one of horror as she took in the mantle, which was covered in books. Whirling around she faced Kayla and John, both of where watching with concern.

“Where is it?” she asked them.

Kayla blinked. “Where’s what?”

Martha hurriedly shuffled through the items on the mantle, causing some of them to fall to the floor. “Oh my god, where's it gone? Where's the watch?”

Moving so that Kayla was slightly behind him, John took a hesitant step forwards. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

Martha held up the fob watch she had. “You had a fob watch, like this one, on that mantle there. Right there!”

John frowned. “I don’t recall that…” he looked over at Kayla, whose brow was furrowed.

“I think I remember it, John,” she said hesitantly. “It was there just a few days ago.” Moving from behind her husband, though he seemed to want to hold her back, Kayla stepped over to Martha. “Why do you need them, Martha? What’s upsetting you so much?”

Martha shook her head. “Doctor, Kayla, we're hiding from aliens, and they've got Jenny and they've...possessed her or copied her or something and you've got to tell me, where's the watch?”

Seeming to come to a realization of sorts, John picked up his journal and pointed at it. “Martha, this is what we call a story,” he said in a slow voice. “I know it must be so confusing for you.”

Martha’s eyes widened and she took a step forwards. “Oh you complete....” she shook her head and pointed at him. “THIS is _not_ you, THIS is nineteen thirteen.”

John nodded, pleased. “Good. This IS nineteen thirteen,” he agreed.

Kayla huffed, “John stop it.” Looking affronted, the brunette sighed and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Martha clearly believes that something is very wrong.” Moving over to the maid’s side, she checked the woman’s forehead with the back of her hand and frowned. “You’re rather warm, Martha. Maybe you should go lie down.”

John jumped at the suggestion. “Yes! Yes, I’ll walk you to your rooms now. We’ll check on you with Matron tomorrow morning.”

While Martha started to splutter in protest, John took her by the arm and started to rush her out of the room. Kayla sat down on the couch, taking in a deep breath as she felt the stress fade out of her. To see Martha, the woman she thought of as a friend, so clearly concerned for their safety, made her feel overwhelmed with gratitude. The fact that she cared, though Kayla felt as if they, especially herself, didn’t deserve it, made her want to cry.

There was a sudden noise in the hallway, and John angered voice said, “Martha you’re acting insane! You are dismissed for the night, and if you keep acting this way then you will be permanently dismissed!”

Kayla got to her feet and rushed to the door to see Martha sprinting down the hallway and John straightening his suit, his face flushed. She took his hand and gave it a careful squeeze, causing John to look down at her.

“I’m very worried about her,” he admitted.

Kayla nodded, watching as Martha ran off.

* * *

Despite their worry for their maid, Kayla and John still decided to go to the dance. While they were a little late, no one seemed to mind as they stepped into the dance hall. The band had just announced a waltz that the two easily started to sway to in the corner, comfortable and happy.

But swaying took a toll, no matter how gentle it was, and Kayla soon found herself sitting at a table while John awkwardly tried to get drinks. Kayla smiled at him and waved, making him gesture towards the laughing women at the drink table that he was trying desperately to get around without interrupting. The brunette had a small feeling that the women knew that and were giggling at his attempts.

Looking away, the smile slipped off her face as she saw Martha walk towards her hurriedly, flushed from her run in the dark. She sat down at the table and placed a fob watch onto it. “You’re going to have to open this.”

Kayla couldn’t help herself and picked up the watch, studying it in her hands. “It’s heavy,” she murmured. “A heavy burden for a maid to carry.” She looked up to Martha staring at her intently, waiting for her to open it. “It’s not the right time, Martha,” Kayla said in a soft voice, “ _He_ has to open it first.”

She let the watch drop from her hands and stared at it like it had burned her. It _felt_ like it had burned her. “Those were not my words,” she said with a shake of her head. Picking up the watch gingerly, Kayla put it on the table and slid it across with one finger. “Take it and leave, Martha, before John comes over and dismisses you.”

Martha took the watch reluctantly and stood up, pocketing it. “There’s one more thing I need to do,” she said as John came over.

“Oh, now really, Martha. This is getting out of hand. I must insist that you leave,” John protested as he placed the drinks he had finally gotten onto the table.

In response, Martha just held out a gray pen-like object with an odd blue light on the trip of it. “Do you know what this is? Name it. Go on, name it.”

John stared at the object and slowly took it, a thoughtful-frown on his face as he studied it. From her seated-position, Kayla took in the object. “Wasn’t that one of the items in your journal?” she asked in a soft voice.

Martha nodded eagerly as John studied the object. “You're not John Smith. You're called the Doctor. The man in your journal, he's real. He's you. And the woman is as well.” She turned to Kayla and smiled at her. “You’re Kayla Hark, not Kayla Smith. You’re his…Bonded, I think. And you _need_ to open that fob watch.”

Looking like he was about to protest, John, Kayla, Martha, and the rest of the room all jumped as a…larger man stormed into the room, knocking down a hat stand in the process. An odd, gun-like object was in his hand that looked sinister and just wrong.

Because his appearance led to screams from several people, the man roared, “There will be silence! All of you!” Two more people, Baines and Jenny, walked in behind the man along with multiple…scarecrows?

More people screamed at this, causing the man to yell again, “I said silence!”

The announcer for the dance looked over at the man with a frown. “Mr. Clarke! What's going on?”

In response, the man, Mr. Clarke, turned and fired at the announcer with his gun, causing him to _dissolve_ into nothing.

Martha quickly turned to John and Kayla. “Mr. Smith, Kayla, everything I’ve told you two, just forget it! Don't say anything,” she hissed.

John nodded and pushed Kayla behind him, mostly hiding her from Mr. Clarke, Jenny, and Baines.

Baines glared around the room a few times before allowing his gaze to land on John and Kayla. “We asked for silence! Now then. We have a few questions for Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” he finished with a sneer.

A little girl with a red balloon skipped forwards and joined the group. “No, better than that,” she said with a shake of her head. “The teacher. He's the Doctor and the famous Kayla Hark is his Bonded. _I_ heard them talking.”

The group exchanged positively gleeful expressions at this news. Kayla felt a pit in her stomach grow and Martha hissed a curse. “You two took human form,” Baines smirked as he turned back to the couple.

John took a hesitant step forwards. “Of course we’re human, we were born human! As were you, Baines. And Jenny, and you, Mr. Clarke! What is going on, this is madness!”

Baines frowned some. “And a human brain, too! Simple, thick and dull.”

Jenny shook her head. “They’re no good like this.”

On the other side of Baines, Mr. Clark nodded. “We need a Time Lord and a Time Lady.”

Baines rolled his eyes. “Easily done.” In a simple movement, he took a step forwards and raise his arm, pointing his gun, not at John, but at _Kayla._ “Change back, both of you,” he ordered.

John stared at the gun and then at Kayla, who had one hand placed on her stomach. Something seemed to flip in him and, with a startled gasp, he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the gun. A high-pitched, whirling noise filled the room and Baines growled and dropped his gun, rubbing at his now red hand.

“Get out!” John shouted to everyone. Turning to Kayla with a shockingly intense expression, he grabbed her hand and then, oddly enough, grabbed Martha’s as well. He pulled the two behind them and started for the room when a blast from one of the guns sailed over his shoulder, causing him to turn, still keeping Kayla and Martha behind him.

Baines, looking rather murderous, had picked up his gun and was pointing it at John. “You’re no longer human, _Time Lord,”_ he spat.

John did not answer. Instead, he just stared at the boy. Kayla very slowly looked at him and then at Martha, who was beaming. For a moment, she was confused, but then what Baines had said hit her. She gasped softly and looked at the man who still looked like her husband, but was certainly _not_ her John. 


	25. The Family of Blood Pt. 1

_Baines, looking rather murderous, had picked up his gun and was pointing it at John. “You’re no longer human, Time Lord,” he spat._

_John did not answer. Instead, he just stared at the boy. Kayla very slowly looked at him and then at Martha, who was beaming. For a moment, she was confused, but then what Baines had said hit her. She gasped softly and looked at the man who still looked like her husband, but was certainly not her John._

Almost as if he was sensing her crashing feelings of worry and shock and just general confusion, John reached behind him and took her hand, giving it a squeeze. Kayla gasped. Usually it was the opposite way, around. Usually, she was taking John’s hand and she was squeezing it. It was nice to be the one getting support.

John glared at the family. “You’ve threatened my friends, innocent people, so I’ll only give you one more chance. _Leave._ Go away and _die,”_ he spat.

Mr. Clarke laughed. “Why should we? You’re a Time Lord now; you’re exactly what we need.”

“And,” Jenny added in, “you have a _pregnant_ Time Lady. Do you realize how much she could go for?”

John literally growled at the groups and moved in front of Kayla even more. “There goes your chance.” Pointing the pen object, the same high-pitch noise from earlier sounded. Whirling around, he grabbed Kayla and yelled to Martha, “Run!”

The trio ran out of the room, Kayla looking back briefly to see the murderous group struggling with their scarecrows, who had grabbed onto them and were holding them hostage. Kayla swallowed hard as she realized the device her husband…no, the device _the Doctor_ was holding, had somehow done that. It was barely the size of a pen and yet it brought so much devastation!

But she didn’t feel the horror she knew that she should have been feeling. As she ran along with the Doctor, her hand in his, she couldn’t help but realize that this…this felt right.

“God you were rubbish as a human, Doctor!” Martha called up to them, making Kayla bristle.

As if he was somehow feeling her emotions, the Doctor squeezed her hand. “I’ll explain everything when we have a chance to sit down.”

Martha was suddenly next to them, panting harder than she had been. “I can show you where the-“

“No!” the Doctor cut in, stopping her from finishing her sentence. “We can’t let them get close! No, no.” He rubbed his hands through his hair multiple times until it was sticking up. Groaning, he started to hit his forehead with the heal of his hand, repeating, “Thick, thick, thick,” as he did so.

Kayla stared at him, his mouth falling open. “He’s going mad!” she hissed to Martha. “We _have_ to do something.”

Martha stared at her for her a few seconds, her eyes wide. She looked back at the Doctor, who had turned, unnoticed by Kayla, to stare at the brunette with a hurt expression. She felt her heart drop. Usually the Doctor knew what to do, and Kayla would chime in with a helpful suggestion. She had gotten use to taking care of them, but with the Doctor back, it seemed so wrong with Kayla just not knowing what was going on.

“Right,” the Doctor said, breaking the silence that had followed Kayla’s whisper. “We need to get back to the school and warn them.”

“Why?” Martha asked. “If we hurry we can get to the TARDIS before they can.”

The Doctor shook his head. “They know I’m connected to the school through John Smith. They’ll act there.”

Kayla gasped at that. “They’re just children!” she protested. “Innocent children who have nothing to do with this…madness!”

Taking a moment to swallow, the Doctor turned to Kayla and nodded. “You’re right.”

“They’re monsters…they’re…” Kayla shook her head. “We need to hurry!” Spinning on her heel, she started to nearly run towards the school.

The Doctor looked at her and then looked at Martha. “Do you know where my fob watch is?” he asked in a soft voice.

Martha shook her head. “It was on your mantle one day and,” she shook her head helplessly.

The Doctor’s hands clenched. “When I opened the fob watch, it could tell that we were under attack. So instead of allowing the vulnerable Time Lady to become human, it had _me_ replace her essence. Whoever has my watch has the _actual_ Kayla.”

By now, the Doctor had started to walk after Kayla, who had since slowed to a fast walk. Martha was beside him, frowning as she tried to follow what he was saying. “Once we get to the school, I want you to look _everywhere_ for that watch, Martha. I’m counting on you.”

In the dark, Martha nodded.

* * *

When they arrived at the school, Kayla was clearly tired from the walk, but when the Doctor started to hover over her protectively, she took a quick step away from him. Martha looked over at the Doctor in time to watch this movement cause that horrible expression from before.

Thankfully, the Doctor had his key to the school and unlocked the side door. He started to try and figure out a way to wake up the boys, mumbling something about needing a speaker to amplify the sound of his screwdriver when Kayla, rolling her eyes, grabbed a bell and started to ring it loudly.

“What are you doing?” the Doctor asked.

Kayla looked over at him, incredulous . “It’s the alarm bell. The boys know that mean that there’s an enemy at the gate and to take arms.”

“Take arms?!” The Doctor looked widely at Kayla and then at Martha, as if she would verify what he was hearing. “Kayla, they’re children!”

Kayla nodded, a brief flash of remembered pain went across her face. “They’ve been trained,” she said, swallowing hard.

The Doctor ran a hand through his hair, causing it to stick up widely. “By who?!”

Kayla whirled around and glared at him. “By _you,_ John!”

His mouth falling open, the Doctor took a step back. He watched in a mute horror as the boys wandered down, sleepy-eyed and confused. “Ma’am, why are you ringing the bell?” one of them asked.

“Enemy at the gates; you need to take arms.”

The Doctor looked over at Martha. “This is madness!” he hissed.

Martha sighed. “No, this is what they’ve been trained for.”

* * *

For quite a bit, the same process continued on. Martha, having wandered off to try and find the fob watch, had left the Doctor and Kayla alone. Thankfully, Kayla had stopped ringing the bell. But now, much to the Doctor’s very vocal horror, had started to hand out guns to the boys. The Time Lord gaped like a fish when she expertly broke apart a gun to make sure it was clean only to put it back together at a speed that made the Doctor wince and rub at his eyes. He was able to find his voice, though, when he heard one of the boys stop her again. He had to be only a year or two above ten, really just a child.

“Ma’am, are there really enemies at the gate?” he asked in a timid voice.

The Doctor watched as Kayla squatted down in front of him and looked the boy straight in the eye. “Yes Jamie, there are. How good are you at target practice?”

The Doctor stepped forwards to protest, ready to put a stop to what Kayla was doing, when Martha suddenly pulled him back. He turned towards her, frowning, only to see her point towards the doorway where the Headmaster was storming in. “What in thunder's name is this? Before I devise an excellent and endless series of punishments for each and every one of you, could someone explain very simply and immediately exactly what is going on?”

Kayla straightened up and the Doctor saw the flash of annoyance the roll of the eyes the Headmaster did at her appearance. “Mrs. Smith! Am I to believe that _you_ are responsible for this….madness and bedlam?”

“I am sir. This school is under attack.”

The Headmaster snorted and turned his glare to the Doctor. “Control your wife better, Mr. Smith, or we might all need to have a private talk.”

The Doctor straightened considerably and glared back just as hard. He was bristling hard at the threat and the slight against his wife. The nerve of this man to say anything against his Bonded!

Taking a step forward, he stared down the man until he took a step back. “My wife is telling the truth, _sir,”_ he sneered. “Jeremy Bains and Mr. Clark – “ he frowned slightly, realizing that he didn’t know the name of Martha’s maid friend.

“Jenny,” Martha hissed.

The Doctor nodded and added in, “Jenny the maid as well. They have guns and they are _killing_ people. Now I don’t agree with having these boys go and try and fight them, because they will _die,_ but I do agree with getting the school evacuated-“

The Headmaster stared at the Doctor as if he had grown a second head and was speaking nonsense. He looked around the room to see if anyone was backing up this insane story. Thankfully, an older man stepped into the room.

“Headmaster,” the man gasped out, seeing the man immediately. “There is madness occurring tonight! Baines, Jeremy Baines, he’s gone mad! He’s running around with that maid Jenny and Mr. Clark! They’ve killed people with these guns-“

The Headmaster, now frowning deeply, looked over at Kayla and the Doctor. “Well, it seems I owe you an apology Mr. Smith. You were telling the truth.” He crossed his arms. “But what makes you sure that they will come here?”

The Doctor blinked and then started to scratch at the back of his head and look down slightly. Kayla blinked. She had never seen John act in a such a way, though this was true for many of the things he had done this night, but John acting awkward and…and shy? No, this was something very different. Though she hadn’t known him as the ‘Doctor’ for very long, Kayla had already figured out that he was very energetic and very confident. Qualities that Kayla had, now that she thought about it, always wished that her husband had.

Seeing that the Doctor wasn’t going to answer anytime soon, Kayla answered the Headmaster. “They threatened John and I,” she informed him.

The man who had come in earlier nodded. “That’s exactly what happened,” He agreed. “The nerve to threaten a pregnant woman! So…barbaric and disgusting!”

The Headmaster bristled slightly and then straightened out his jacket. “Quite,” he agreed. He looked over at the room of boys, who were watching the exchange with interest, and nodded to himself. “Very well. You boys, remain on guard. Mr. Snell, telephone the police.” He looked around and seemed to relax slightly at the sight of another older man entering the room. “Mr. Philips, with me. We shall investigate.”

The Doctor took a hurried step forwards. “Headmaster, let me come with you.” At the look he was given for this statement, the Doctor added in a softer tone, “They threatened my wife.”

The Headmaster swallowed hard. “You may come,” he agreed.

Turning away, the Doctor whispered something to Martha, which made her nod and head over to Kayla. “We need to find the Doctor’s watch,” she hissed.

Kayla blinked. “What is a watching going to do? We need to help the boys get set up-“

Sighing, Martha grabbed Kayla’s arm and tugged her out of the room and up the stairs. As they turned the corner, Kayla paused and looked around sharply. Martha looked back at her, about to complain, only to see Kayla starting to walk behind her once again. Shaking her head in annoyance, Martha pressed on.

* * *

Outside the school, the Doctor stood and glared at Baines, Mr. Clark, and Jenny the maid. Beside them, there were several scarecrows, clearly moving despite the straw coming out of their weak seams. The Doctor frowned and took out his sonic screwdriver. He quickly scanned them and then looked at the results only to frown even more. “Molecular fringe animation in the shape of a scarecrow,” he murmured to himself, which drew odd looks from the Headmaster and Mr. Philips.

Looking away from the Doctor and to the trio, the Headmaster seemed to almost deflate at the sight. “So, Baines and one of the cleaning staff. There's always a woman involved. Am I to gather that some practical joke has got out of hand?” he asked in the way that someone would ask something if they were hoping the answer would be a firm ‘yes.’

The answer, however, wasn’t a firm ‘yes.’ Baines reply, in fact, was the furthest thing possible from a firm ‘yes.’ “Headmaster, sir. Good evening, sir. Come to give me a caning, sir? Would you like that, sir?” He sneered.

The Headmaster drew himself up to full height and bristled at the reply. “Keep a civil tongue, boy,” he demanded. But from the look the Doctor could make out on Baines’ face, he clearly was not impressed by what the Headmaster would consider ‘harsh.’ And, if the Doctor was be fair, he felt the same. Kayla’s harsh voice was far scarier. And she would do this look and threaten to withhold kisses…the Doctor shivered at the thought of not getting a kiss from his Bonded.

Mr. Philips looked at the Headmaster and then at Baines and sighed. “Now - come now everyone. I suspect alcohol has played its part in this,” he suggested in a calming voice.

The Doctor nearly snorted. “Oh I would disagree,” he said in a soft voice.

Mr. Philips seemed to have heard him. Giving him an annoyed look, he spoke up once again towards Baines. “Let's all just calm down. And who are these friends of yours, Baines? In fancy dress.”

Baines laughed. “Has the good _Doctor_ not told you?” As both the Headmaster’s and Mr. Philips’ eyes went to the Doctor, Baines walked over to one of the scarecrows and held up its arms. “Do you like them, Mr. Philips? I made them myself.”

In the darkness, the Doctor could just make out Baines eyes the arm like it was an interesting piece of meat. “I'm ever so good at science, sir. Look—“ Not actually surprised, the Doctor watched as Baines pulled, more of ripped, the arm off of the scarecrow. “--molecular fringe animation fashioned in the shape of straw men.--my own private army, sir. Ever so good, sir.”

“Baines, step apart from this company and come inside with me,” the Headmaster ordered in a voice sharp with something that sounded a great deal like fear.

Baines let the arm drop from his hands and turned towards the Headmaster, his head tilted and his eyes firmly placed on the man next to the Headmaster, the Doctor. “No, sir. You, sir—You!” He pointed to the Doctor, his arm not shaking at all. “ _You_ will go and get your lovely pregnant wife. That’s all we want. You, her, and whatever she has done with her Time Lady consciousness.”

Moving his eyes onto the Headmaster, he smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile at all. His smile resembled something that a cat would give to the mouse hanging from his claws. “Then we'd be very happy to leave you alone.”

The Doctor took a firm step forwards. “Is there anything left in that body of Baines? I know he wasn’t kind…well I say not kind…” the Doctor shook his head. “He was very not kind. Not cruel though. Not like you.”

Baines seemed to sniff in the air before he answered. “We are the Family of Blood. We are cruel.”

“Not as cruel as I can be. You seem to have forgotten how the Time Lords dealt with those we didn’t like. I can give you a history lesson. I’m very good at history.”

In the darkness, it was hard to tell. But the Doctor could almost see a slight twitch at his words. He couldn’t help but grin some. He really didn’t like it if someone even threatened to touch his Bonded.

“You’ve killed people, innocent people. That puts you on the wrong side with me. You _don’t_ want to be on the wrong side with me.”

“They were good deaths,” Baines said in a casual voice.

The Headmaster was the one who replied to that. “Well, I warn you, the school is armed.”

Baines snorted. “All your little tin soldiers. But tell me, sir, will they thank you?”

“I don’t understand,” the Headmaster said, glaring at Baines.

“The Doctor understands. He’s good at history. He knows about next year, but what do you know about it?”

The Headmaster looked over at the Doctor, clearly trying to get him to answer and explain what Baines was talking about. But he stayed silent. So the Headmaster turned towards Baines. “You’re not making sense, Baines.”

Baines laughed at that. “1914 - sir. Because the Family has travelled far and wide looking for the Doctor and, oh, the things we have seen. War is coming. In foreign fields, war of the whole wide world, with all your boys falling down in the mud. Do you think they will thank the man who taught them it was glorious?”

The Headmaster seemed to almost grow in anger and fury and in vengeful pride. “Don't you forget, boy, I've been a soldier. I was in South Africa, I used my dead mates as sandbags, I fought with the butt of my rifle when the bullets ran out, and I would go back there tomorrow for King and Country!”

Baines did not look as impressed as Mr. Philips. He seemed bored by the Headmaster’s speech. “Et cetera, et cetera. Child’s play compared to the wars that a Time Lord has seen.”

Taking his gun out, he shot Mr. Philips, disintegrating him. The Doctor’s shout of, “No, don’t!” came too late out of his mouth. He could only turn to Baines and the family and shout at them, “He was innocent! He did nothing wrong!”

Baines just laughed. “Run along Doctor. Run along with the Headmaster to that little school of yours and bring us your wife!”

Grabbing the Headmaster, who clearly didn’t want to follow, the Doctor dragged the man with him inside the school.

As soon as they were inside, the Headmaster yanked himself out of the Doctor’s grip and glared at him. “Mr. Philips has been murdered, Mr. Smith. And Baines seems to think that you’re a ‘Doctor’ of some sort. Can you tell me why?”

“Headmaster, you need to understand that Baines is gone. He’s a good as dead. And so are those kids who you’re going to send out with…with tin guns!”

The Headmaster shook his head. “I have no idea what you are referring to Mr. Smith! You have trained these boys for months now and I expect you to lead them out there to fight. If we have to make a fight of it, then make a fight we shall. Hutchinson, we'll build a barricade within the courtyards, fortify the entrances, build our defenses. Gentlemen, in the name of the King, we shall stand against them.”

The boys, who had been watching the exchange, all chorused, “Yes, sir!” And as the Headmaster stormed out, the boys filed out to help with the defenses, leaving the Doctor breathing hard and alone.

* * *

While the Doctor got roped into helping out the defense, Martha was searching the Doctor’s study while Kayla leaned against the wall and watched.

“I know it sounds mad, but when you and the Doctor became human, you both took the alien part of yourselves and stored it inside a watch. It's not really a watch, it just looks like a watch. And when the Doctor became human, your alien part jumped into his watch.”

“And when you say ‘alien’ you mean not of this place? Of this…world?”

Martha nodded. “You guys are from some planet. Gal-a something.”

“Gallifrey,” Kayla corrected, and then slapped her hands over her mouth. “I don’t know where that word came from.”

Despite how scared Kayla seemed, Martha was thrilled. She nodded, beamed, and took a step towards the pregnant woman. “But that’s right, Kayla!” She said in a voice that was probably trying to be comforting, but it did little to soothe Kayla’s fears.

Sighing, Martha took another step forwards and took Kayla’s hand. “It’s okay Kayla. Seriously. I’m still simple Martha Jones, the maid.”

“Who are you to the Doctor and…and me?”

Martha blinked at the question. “I’m your friend. The Doctor liked me because I'm training to be a doctor--not an alien doctor--a proper doctor, a doctor of medicine.” She paused and then, with a small smile, she joked, “I’m certainly not your maid though. I don’t just follow you guys around. We’re a team. Or at least trying to be.”

“What do you mean ‘trying to be?’” Kayla asked rather sharply.

Martha let go of Kayla’s hand and twisted her apron, thinking hard for her answer. “We’ve had some…troubles. A few things came up and I decided to leave the TARDIS-“

“The blue box?” Kayla interjected, her eyes wide as she saw in her mind the image of it, just how the Doctor had described it.

Martha nodded. “The blue box,” she agreed. “But the Doctor ended up convincing me to come back. He was worried about you and the baby-“ Martha cut herself off hastily, seeing Kayla’s eyes widen and her hands go frantically to her stomach, as if checking that she was still pregnant.

“Why was he worried about the baby? Martha? Martha!” Her voice going more and more shriller, Kayla frantically demanded an answer from Martha.

And Martha, poor Martha, she knew the Doctor would never, never want her to explain this to Kayla. But the way she was looking at her, the frantic expression on her face and the fear in her voice, made Martha’s heart break.

So she took a deep breath, and started to explain. “We couldn’t see the baby when we did an ultrasound. And since you were human at one point we don’t know if the baby is going to be human or a Time Lord or some combination of both.”

Martha’s voice was very rushed, and she had not looked up at Kayla’s face once when she was speaking. So she did not see the heartbroken expression on Kayla’s face until it was too late to take back the words she had spoken.

“So if I change back to being an…an alien, there might be something wrong with my child?”

Martha quickly shook her head. “Don’t look at it like that!” She protested. “Even if there’s something wrong, the Doctor will be able to fix it. And so will I.”

Kayla breathed deeply and ran her hand through her hair. “May I go check on John?” she asked. “This is obviously a lot to take in and I just…seeing him,” her voice broke and she looked down. She could feel tears welling in her eyes and she knew, and hoped, that seeing her husband’s face would make her feel calmer.

Martha frowned some. “Do you need help getting there?” She asked quickly. Kayla was, after all, not in the best state.

Kayla shook her head. “I’ll be alright Martha.”

Taking Martha’s following silence as an okay, Kayla walked out of the door and started to head down the hallway, her heart beating fast as she rubbed at her stomach. She honestly had no idea what she was going to say to her husband besides how scared she was. And even that, upon recollection, felt almost selfish. He was probably worried about the children that she had armed but hadn’t she been armed young as well? She could almost see herself as a young child standing in front of a group of far older men and training them on how to hold their gun so that they didn’t ‘shoot themselves in the head because that had happened before and the Time Agency was so tired of losing people like that.’

Kayla shook her head, trying to dispel the memory…no, fantasy. It was only a fantasy. It could not be real because if it was real then that meant everything that Martha was saying was also real.

* * *

It took her a bit, but Kayla finally found the Doctor. He looked in place, speaking to the children and ordering them about, but Kayla could tell just from his body expression how uncomfortable he was. When he saw her, Kayla could see his expression change to one of both giddy happiness and concern. He hurried over to her and took both her hands.

“Kayla, it’s not safe,” he warned. “The Family could come at any time and they have guns, you’ve seen them. If one of them hit you-“

Kayla cut the Doctor off. As nice as it was to feel worried about, it was hard to follow the Doctor’s words considering how fast he was speaking. “It’s fine, Joh-Doctor.”

Letting go of one of her hands, the Doctor looked down at the ground. “You can still call me John, if it makes you more comfortable.” He mumbled.

“How can I call you John if you are no longer him?” Kayla pointed out.

“I’m still him. Truly. I can show you.”

Kayla looked at him, her brow furrowing in puzzlement. “Show me?”

Taking both her hands once again, the Doctor drew her close and leaned down and kissed her gently. “When I was John I was in love with you. And as who I am now, I am still in love with you. I will _always_ be in love with you.”

Kayla looked up at him. They were still close together in a horribly rude way, but she couldn’t help but smile. There was something very nice about feeling cherished. It made her feel warm and it made all the worries evaporate from her.

“I love you too, Doctor.” Kayla said in a soft voice. But then she pulled away, making the Doctor frown. He could tell that something was off.

“I have memories, though. So many memories of being a child. Growing up in Nottingham and seeing your family every Sunday. Wading through the River Leen with you and then getting yelled at by our mothers. Our first kiss underneath a willow tree and the way you smiled at me when we got married. It was the same smile you gave me when I told you I was pregnant.”

The Doctor, throughout the entire time, had been listening patiently and with a melancholy expression on his face. Kayla looked over at him and then sighed. “John would have interrupted me. He would have pointed out that our first kiss was under an oak tree. And that he had stayed on the bank instead of going into the River Leen.”

Instead of saying anything, the Doctor just nodded. Which made tears well up in her eyes. “How can I not be real and human if I have all these memories?”

The Doctor rubbed the back of Kayla’s hand with his thumb, hoping to calm her down. “The TARDIS put in backstories to make us appear more real. So that even we wouldn’t suspect.” He paused and then added in, as if it would help, “This wasn’t how this was supposed to go.”

“Then how was it supposed to go? Would Martha just open up the watches and we revert back?”

“After three months, yes,” the Doctor agreed. “It would have been so quick. Like waking up from a dream. I never would have put Martha through this, or you, or this place, if I known the Family would have found us.”

Before Kayla could reply, the Headmaster called out, “Mr. Smith, if you please!”

Looking back at the man and the at Kayla, the Doctor sighed. “He won’t let up until I go over there…”

Kayla nodded. “That would be like him,” she admitted.

The Doctor smiled gently at her and then kissed her quickly. “Go back up to Martha. I don’t like the idea of you wandering about.”

Kayla blinked at him, unsure of what to say. She watched as he walked over to the Headmaster, and then she turned away. As she walked into the building, she swayed momentarily, memories flashing through her mind. She could see herself facing down some horrible creature, her eyes lit with golden light. And then she could see herself with two other men, the three of them standing before a bright object.

And then the memories were gone. And she felt the Doctor’s hand on her waist and heard him distantly frantically asking her questions. She looked up at him and felt her mouth move to shape a word she didn’t recognize, but the Doctor did.

But then the world faded away…


	26. The Family of Blood Pt. 2

_As she walked into the building, she swayed momentarily, memories flashing through her mind. She could see herself facing down some horrible creature, her eyes lit with golden light. And then she could see herself with two other men, the three of them standing before a bright object._

_And then the memories were gone. And she felt the Doctor’s hand on her waist and heard him distantly frantically asking her questions. She looked up at him and felt her mouth move to shape a word she didn’t recognize, but the Doctor did._

_But then the world faded away…_

* * *

The Doctor was furiously pacing. Kayla had passed out, and, while she was passing out, had mouthed his name. She had remembered.

And then she woke up.

She claimed that she was just tired and she had gotten dizzy. She pointed out that this was probably bad for the baby and that all her stress probably didn’t help. But the Doctor didn’t believe her. He knew that someone had opened her watch. That was the only way she could have gotten those memories.

Martha was tending to her now. She was the only person he trusted to tend to her, besides himself. He really would have been by her side, holding her hand while Martha was out running for the fob watch, but instead _he_ was the one looking around. That was really a miracle in itself because it had taken so much talking to the Headmaster even though he knew that the Doctor’s wife had collapsed.

But he had given in, citing how he felt when his mother had taken ill and that it would be “against his own moral code to force another man away from his wife.”

So the Doctor had ran off, only for Martha to say that Kayla didn’t feel comfortable with the idea of him being there. He had stood there, his mouth open in shock, as Martha tried to explain that Kayla had seen something that made her scared to be around _anyone_ and that it had taken so much pleading and talking to get her to accept that Martha would be there.

“She called herself a monster, Doctor,” Martha had explained. “She said that she’s killed people.”

The Doctor just shook his head. “Kayla means everything to me. I need to be in there with her.”

Martha just shook her head. “I don’t want her to freak out any more. She’s already been through so much stress and you know that’s not good for the baby.”

“What do I do then? Go walk around to find the fob watch? The Headmaster thinks I’m in there, Martha.”

Martha just shrugged. She had no idea as well. She suggested, half-heartedly, that maybe the Doctor who have more luck searching for the fob watch, and he had, with a forlorn expression, agreed.

He had wandered the school for ages. Every nook and cranny of the school, and he had found nothing. He was covered with dust, worried sick about Kayla, and could hear the gunshots from mere boys’ guns as they killed scarecrows filled with straw. Somehow, he ended up at the window that stared down at the scene and he couldn’t help himself and looked down just in time to see the boys, several of their faces tear-stained, all putting down their guns as the Headmaster started to walk towards a familiar looking child.

It took the Doctor a second to recognize the child. But when he did he slammed the palm of his hand to his forehead, shouted, “Thick!” at himself, and sprinted to the field.

“You child, come out of the way. Come into the school. You don't know who's out there. It's the Cartwright girl, isn't it? Come here. Come to me,” the Headmaster was saying, his hand outstretched, to the girl.

“Headmaster, please. Don’t go near her,” the Doctor said as urgently as possible.

“Mr. Smith, I thought you were with your _wife,”_ the Headmaster snapped.

“I was! But then I saw _her_ and I knew I had to come down here. She was with Baines and Mr. Clark and Jenny in the village!”

“Mr. Smith, I've seen many strange sights this night but there is no cause on God's earth that would allow me to see this child in the field of battle, sir.” Turning away, he held out his hand to the girl once again. “Come with me.”

“You're funny,” the girl just said with a tilt of her head.

“That's right. Now take my hand,” the Headmaster said with something that was probably his best effort at a kind smile.

“So funny,” the girl said. She reached into her coat, pulled out a gun, and shot the Headmaster, making him disintegrate. “Now who's going to shoot me - any of you, really?” she challenged.

Breathing hard and fast, the Doctor turned to the boys. “Put down your guns,” he ordered.

“But sir, the Headmaster—“ one of the boys, Hutchinson, if the Doctor remembered correctly, protested.

“I'll not see this happen. Not anymore. You will retreat...in an orderly fashion back through the school. Hutchinson, lead the way.”

“But sir—“ Hutchinson protested once more.

The Doctor, however, cut him off. “I said, lead the way,” he snapped.

And then Baines arrived and fired his own gun into the air. “Go on, then, run!” he yelled.

Like the reasonable, smart boys they were, the boys panicked and ran into the school, the Doctor quickly following them.

* * *

Inside the school, it was panic. Kayla and Martha had come down after hearing the yelling from the boys and, after assessing the situation, had started to lead the boys to safety through a passage that went through the stables.

The Doctor had quickly found them and had grabbed Martha’s arm. “We need to get Kayla away from here,” he had hissed to her.

Martha shook her head. “She won’t leave until all the boys are out.”

Thankfully, though, Kayla had just come back from leading the last lot of boys and had looked around. “That’s cannot be all of them. They’ve must have captured the rest.”

The Doctor watched her eyes as they flicked to the door that lead to the rest of the school and he quickly shook his head. “Kayla we _need_ to go,” he protested.

Kayla walked over to the door, determined, and opened it only to suddenly and violently sway on her feet. The Doctor shouted, “Kayla!” and ran over to her.

“Someone’s opened the watch,” he said to Martha. “Not for long though. We _need_ to get her to safety.”

Martha nodded and hurried over. “I don’t think we can both carry her,” she said hesitantly.

The Doctor nodded in agreement. Kayla was still awake, thankfully, but she didn’t fight when he and Martha lifted her up and walked her through the barn. She only started to actually protest when they had walked a good few miles, and by that point there really wasn’t much she could do.

“Where are we going?” she asked. By now she could walk on her own, but that didn’t stop the Doctor from keeping his arm wrapped around her waist.

“The TARDIS,” Martha hissed.

They all froze as they heard Mr. Clark’s voice, singing, in the woods. “Doctor! Kayla!”

Ducking down, the trio edged forwards until they could see Mr. Clark with a group of scarecrows standing in front of the TARDIS.

“Come back, Doctor and Kayla. Come home. Come and claim your prize.”

“Out you come, Doctor! There's a good boy. Come to the Family with your wife,” Baines’ voice called.

And finally Jenny’s voice shouted, “Time to end it now!”

The Doctor looked over at Kayla, who was starting at the TARDIS with wide eyes. “You recognize it, don’t you?” he asked softly.

Kayla stared at the box for a long time before whispering, “How? I’m Kayla Smith. That’s all I am…that’s all I want to be. Kayla Smith with her life…her child…and her husband. Why can’t I be her? Am I not good enough?”

The Doctor hugged Kayla tightly, feeling her start to shake with suppressed tears. “You’re amazing Kayla. You’re perfect. And so is Kayla Hark. You’re the only one who’s good enough to ever be her.”

“Why can’t I stay?” she whimpered.

“Because our child needs Kayla Hark as his mother. And I need Kayla Hark.”

“But I don’t need Kayla Hark,” Kayla snapped. Climbing to her feet, she started to head as quickly as she could into the forest behind them.

The Doctor and Martha exchanged worried looks and quickly hurried after her.

* * *

Martha and the Doctor were finally able to catch up to Kayla on a country road. She was breathing hard from both the effort it took to walk through the woods and from her emotions. She looked behind to see the two and frowned, crossing her arms.

“This way. I know a place we can go,” Martha said as she looked around.

The Doctor looked at her with his brow furrowed. “How far is it?”

“Not too far. Shorter than just wandering about.”

* * *

When they arrived at the little cottage, Martha wasted little time in opening the door, which wasn’t locked, and leading the Doctor and Kayla into a simple and dark kitchen with a tea set on the table.

“Hello?” Martha called, and then shook her head. “No one’s here.” She turned to face the Doctor. “The little girl at the school, the one with the Family, this is her house. She must have killed her parents when they tried to stop her going to the dance.”

The Doctor placed a hand on the tea point. “It’s stone cold,” he said with a nod. “They never even had a chance.”

Kayla, who had sat down, picked up one of the plates set on the table and stared down at it while rotating it in her hands. “What if I go to them?” she asked, her voice merely a whisper.

Both the Doctor and Martha stared at her. “You can’t!” Martha protested quickly. “They’ll just kill you!”

“What about our child?” the Doctor pointed out.

Kayla looked up at him with an odd expression on her face. “Martha already told me – there’s something wrong with it. Perhaps it’s better-“

“No.” the Doctor sat down next to Kayla and took her hands. “The baby is _fine._ Yes, they’ve been complications but we can deal with them. We have the technology and we have Martha.”

“But changing back could harm the child,” Kayla pointed out with a slight tremble in her voice.

The Doctor shook his head. “This technology was originally made for pregnant Time Ladies to hide. Moving the essence is a safety feature for it. The baby will be fine when you became a Time Lady again, but we can’t do that until we have the watch, which we don’t have.”

As if that was a cue, there was a knock on the door. The trio froze, with Kayla’s hands going to her stomach and the Doctor rising to his feet to point his sonic at the door. And then Martha whispered:

“I'm not an expert, but I don't think scarecrows knock.”

She took a deep breath and move to the door. Opening it a tiny bit, Martha let out a breath as she saw that it was just one of the school boys, Timothy Latimer. She opened the door up all the way and moved so he could get inside only for him to hold out a familiar fob watch and say, “I brought you this.”

As Martha took the fob watch from him, she could hear it whisper her name in Kayla’s voice.

* * *

Timothy was quickly brought inside and Martha handed off the fob watch to the Doctor, who assessed that it was his watch. He placed it in the palm of his hand and, as if he was giving a treat to a horse, held it out to Kayla.

“Hold it,” he requested.

Kayla looked down at the fob watch and then shook her head. “I won’t,” she said, hating how her voice sounded like a child having a tantrum.

“Please, Kayla. Just hold it. You don’t have to open it. I just want you to hold it.”

“It told me to find you. It wants to be held,” Timothy said.

The Doctor looked over at the boy. “How long did you have the watch? Since I gave you my book?”  Timothy nodded. “How come you didn’t give it back?”

Timothy looked down and it shoes and scoffed them on the floor for several minutes before he answered. “Because it was waiting. And because I was scared of the Doctor.”

“But Kayla’s the one in there,” Martha pointed out with a frown.

“Not always,” the Doctor reminded her. “It was originally my watch, remember?”

Timothy nodded. “When it switched to Kayla, I could still feel the Doctor somehow. I was scared of the Doctor’s rage when he realized that I could have put Kayla in harm.”

“How did you feel about me?” Kayla asked suddenly, her voice soft.

Timothy looked over at her with a frown. “I was scared of you as well. Terrified, really.”

“Why?” Martha asked, her arms crossed. Kayla was _not_ a person she could see _anyone_ being scared of.

“Because Kayla’s…different then the Doctor. And I’ve seen her. She’s the rage in the Doctor’s fire. The storm in the heart of the sun while the Doctor’s the night.”

“Stop it,” Kayla said softly.

But Timothy continued. “She’s young but seen so much. She’d help the Doctor burn up the universe if he asked.”

“Stop it!” Kayla repeated, her voice much louder.

Still, Timothy went on. “But she’s caring and empathetic and she’s just as wonderful as the Doctor.”

There was a silence in the cottage for a long time before Martha pulled out the journal. “I was able to get this. The journal,” she said.

“They’re…they’re just silly stories John dreamed up,” Kayla said with a shake of her head.

Martha frowned at her sadly. “We all know that’s not true, including you. Maybe there's something in here that will – what the hell?”

Martha turned to the window and looked out, scared to find out what had been the cause of the nearby explosion. The rest also looked out to see what almost appeared to be meteorites falling to the ground.

“They’re destroying the village,” Marta gasped. She was the first one to break the horrified silence that had fallen as they watched the Family, from high above, rain down bombs.

Kayla turned away from the window, the sight sickening. Shaking her head, she started to go sit down when she paused. She could faintly hear her own voice whisper to her. “The watch,” she breathed. She picked it up from the table and held it in her hand, hearing it say _‘Come closer.’_

Timothy turned towards her. “Can you hear it?” He asked in a low voice.

Martha and the Doctor heard him, though, and they both turned to see Kayla holding the watch up to her ear.

_‘Closer. Closer,’_ the watch said.

“I think she’s asleep. Waiting to awaken,” Kayla said, mainly to herself.

Timothy frowned. “Why did she speak to me?” he wondered.

Kayla turned to Timothy with an expression the Doctor and Martha recognized well. “It’s a low-level telepathic field that you were born with. It’s probably extra synaptic engram that causes-“ She cut herself off with a deep breath and looked over at the Doctor, her eyes wide and frightened. “Is that how she talks?”

The Doctor nodded. “All you have to do, Kayla, is open the watch. That will bring you, the real you, back.”

Kayla looked down at the watch and then over at the Doctor and finally over at Martha. “My entire life, though. I’ve only just begun living my life and I’m going to start a family with my husband.”

“That will still happen, Kayla, I promise.”

“A life with a child? The Doctor, the Doctor that John described, could never have that life.”

The Doctor shook his head. “Kayla, I’m the Doctor. And I’m telling you that we can have that life.”

Kayla’s face crumbled as she looked at the Doctor and then at the watch still in her hands. “I don’t want to die, John. I don’t. I’m just simple Kayla Smith and _I don’t want to die.”_

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Kayla’s waist. “It was always going to end, Kayla. The Family have a lifespan of three months. Unless they consume one of us, they’re going to die.”

“So when three months were up, Martha was just going to execute us?”

“Not execute us, Kayla. Just wake us up.”

Kayla took a step back and shook her head. “This-this is all too much.” She walked backwards until she felt the backdoor’s handle and she quickly opened it and then shut it. The Doctor, Martha, and Timothy exchanged worried looks.

“I can go and talk to her,” Timothy suggested suddenly in the silence that followed Kayla’s exit.

“She’s my Bonded, _I’ll_ go talk to her,” the Doctor snapped back.

Martha shook her head. “I think Timothy is on to something, Doctor. He’s not alien, he’s just a kid.”

Timothy nodded. “I’m not really related to all this.”

* * *

Despite the Doctor’s displeasure, Timothy ended up sitting next to Kayla on the step outside the backdoor. Kayla had looked up at him when he came out and had tried to give him a smile, but her tears ended up getting in the way and she looked down at her feet on the ground.

“What was Kayla like?” she asked him in a soft voice.

Timothy frowned down at his hands. “It was hard to get a real reading of her,” he admitted. “But her voice always seemed kind.”

Kayla fiddled with the hem of her dress. “Would Kayla go out there and stop them?”

“Absolutely. She’d find it imperative.”

“What about her child? Doesn’t she worry about them?”

“All the time. But she’s also started to worry about other children. The children that could be her kid. She’ll look at a child in need and think about how that could be _her_ child one day.” Timothy looked over at Kayla to see an odd, thoughtful expression on her face, so he continued. “Sure, she worries about her child, but she also wants to give that child the example the Doctor always gives her.”

“What’s that example?”

“The example of caring. When the Doctor first met Kayla, she had done something horrible. She nearly killed many people. But the Doctor forgave her, and even saved her! All because he cared.”

Kayla sighed deeply and opened up her hand to look down at the fob watch. “It’s so little,” she murmured. “How can something so small hold an entire person?”

Knowing she was really only speaking her thoughts out loud, Timothy said nothing. Instead, he watched Kayla’s fingers run along the edge of the watch. He was just starting to really, properly smile, but then Kayla faltered. As she opened her mouth to say something, the door behind them suddenly opened up and Martha stepped out.

“Kayla! Kayla, you _need_ to open the watch!” She said urgently. Kayla rose to her feet and frowned at Martha.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“He’s gone to confront the Family! _Without you!_ I – I don’t think he’ll come back if he thinks you’re still human.”

Her eyes widening, Kayla didn’t hesitate this time, nor did she think. She just _acted._ She opened up the fob watch and was covered in a glow of light that seared the night.

* * *

The Doctor took a deep breath. He could hear the Family plotting inside their ship, and their plans were ones of destruction and death and…he had to stop it. The Time War had shown him that he could do the things he needed to do, even if they went against everything he believed in. Taking care of the Family was easier then Daleks, because the Family had threatened his Bonded _and_ their child.

To him, that was unforgivable.

What was worse was that the Doctor knew that once he got rid of the Family, he wouldn’t have _his_ Kayla to come home to. It would just be Martha Jones who really knew who he was. And the woman who looked like Kayla, who talked like Kayla, and who loved like Kayla did, would be standing to the side and peering at him like he was a stranger. She would only have one heart, and if he reached out to speak to her mentally, she would never respond.

The Doctor could not see how he could survive a life like that. His beautiful Bonded shut off from him in ways he could never open up was a hell he had endured far too long. The only real way to survive was to not survive at all.

He would not be returning.

Martha would be taken care of. The instructions he had given her were simple. _“The TARDIS will take you home,”_ he had explained urgently. _“As soon as you step inside, you’ll be brought back to your apartment and you can be with your family once again.”_

Martha had tried to protest but he had held up his hand and shaken his head, not wanting to hear her.

For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and focused, hoping he could feel Kayla’s mind just for a couple more seconds. But there was only silence. Kayla was still human.

Shaking out his limbs, as if that would get rid of the ache in his hearts, the Doctor allowed himself a moment of grief. And then he pushed that feeling away and stepped into the Family’s ship, intent on his mission.

* * *

Upon thinking back to what happened that night, Kayla realized she made it with seconds to spare. She had tried to repeatedly reach out to the Doctor, but her mind was too jumbled to do so. Which left her only one option: running. Her legs and lungs were burning and her hearts were thumping uncomfortably fast by the time she reached the ship. She was just about to go in when she heard the Doctor’s voice shout out inside, “Run!”

She shouted back, “Doctor! Doctor!” Opening up her mind as much as she could, she tried to reach out from him, but she could only graze him before her mind instinctively slammed shut. She growled in frustration and was just about to try again when two familiar, strong arms wrapped around her.

Her eyes met his, and she saw the smile flash across his face as he realized exactly _who_ she was. For moment, he seemed like he was about to kiss her, but then he frowned at the sound of the Family heading towards them.

“Why are they running?” Kayla asked.

“I’ve set their spaceship to blow up. We should probably run to.”

Kayla nodded and took the Doctor’s hand. “Together, though,” she stated.

“Together,” he agreed.

The two ran, the spaceship behind them. They felt the heat of the explosion on their back and heard the Family’s cries as they were pushed by the blast to right in front of the Doctor and Kayla. The couple looked down at them, both _not pleased._

* * *

_They never raised their voices. That was the worst thing. The fury of the Time Lord and Lady. And then we discovered why. Why this Doctor and his Kayla, who had fought with gods and demons, why they’d run away from us and hidden – they were being kind._

_They wrapped my father in unbreakable chains, forged in the heart of a dwarf star. Should he survive long enough, the Time Agency will find him with a list of all the part he had stolen from them._

_They tricked my mother into the event horizon of a collapsing galaxy to be imprisoned there…forever._

_Kayla still visits my little sister once a year – the Doctor cannot stand the sight of her. I wonder if she will one day forgive her. But there she is. Kayla trapped her inside a mirror, every mirror._

_As for me, I was suspended in time. And the Doctor put me to work, standing over the fields of England…as their protector._

_We wanted to live forever, so the Doctor and Kayla made sure that we did._

* * *

There was only one person the Doctor and Kayla felt they needed to say goodbye and, more importantly, apologize to. And he was waiting by the TARDIS next to Martha, who had changed, like the Doctor and Kayla had, to her modern clothes. She beamed as she saw the two walking towards her. Timothy also cracked a smile at the sight.

“Doctor, Kayla,” he greeted.

The Doctor smiled back at him. “Tim-Timothy-Timber.”

Timothy didn’t seem to know how to reply for a second, as he took in the sight of the real Doctor and the real Kayla. But he found his voice quickly enough. “I just wanted to say good-bye. And thank you, because I've seen the future and I now know what must be done. It's coming, isn't it? The biggest war ever.”

“You don’t have to fight,” Martha pointed out, her eyes widening at the idea of this _kid_ fighting.

Timothy shook his head. “I think we do.”

“You could get hurt,” Kayla warned. Her hand had gone to her stomach as she took in the boy who could very likely be similar to her child. And that…that made her scared for him.

Timothy shrugged. “Well, so could you, travelling around with him, but it's not going to stop you.”

The Doctor held out his fob watch to Timothy, a gleam of pride in his eyes as he took the boy, no, the young man standing in front of him in. “Tim, I'd be honored if you'd take this.”

Timothy took it and looked down at the watch. “I can’t hear anything.”

The Doctor nodded. “No, it's just a watch now. But keep it with you. For good luck.”

Martha hugged the younger boy. “Look after yourself,” she ordered him sternly. And then gave him a kiss on his cheek.

Kayla also gave him a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.

Returning to the Doctor’s side, she looked up at the Time Lord’s face.

_‘I love you Doctor.’_

_‘I love you too, Kayla.’_

The Doctor smiled over at Timothy. “You'll like this bit,” he promised as Martha and then he and Kayla headed into the TARDIS.

And Timothy did like this bit as he watched the TARDIS leave with a wheezing sound.

* * *

Kayla and the Doctor had immediately brought the TARDIS to a Remembrance Sunday service. The Doctor, Martha, and Kayla had all changed to formal clothes that suited the service. So when they stepped out into the sun, they did not stand out.

Kayla spotted Timothy first, and pointed him out to the Doctor and Martha. The once young and youthful Tim now sat in a wheelchair, his hair gray and thin. But his head was held proudly as he listened to the female vicar read _For the Fallen._

“...They mingle not with laughing comrades again;

They sit no more at familiar tables of home;

They have no lot in our labor of the day-time;

They sleep beyond England's foam.

They went with songs to the battle,”

“…they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,”

As if he felt their presence, Timothy looked over at the trio and gave them a small smile. They had not changed at all. The Doctor gave him a respectful nod, one that Timothy returned.

“They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.”


	27. Interlude 7

The Doctor, Kayla, and Martha were in hurry, though the latter of the two had no earthly idea as to why. They had been about to hunt down some sort of alien lizard and four other, equally horrible things when the Doctor had received a call on the TARDIS phone. Kayla had instantly tensed and had explained to Martha about the _last_ time something had called the TARDIS phone.

This time was, thankfully, not a child in a gas mask. Though whomever called had made the Doctor’s face turn to stone and for him to forcibly hang up the phone. Kayla had placed a hand on his arm. _‘Are you alright?’_ She had asked mentally, but the Doctor had not answered.

Martha looked down at her watch. “We have an hour,” she warned.

“It’s being taken care of,” the Doctor said in a low voice.

Martha and Kayla stared at him. “What?” Kayla asked, frowning.

“Everything is being taken care of. We should go.”

“But Doctor –“ Martha had started to protest, only for the Time Lord to whip around to glare at her.

“What?!” He snapped. “What do you want me to say? I’ve been informed by UNIT that _they_ think it’s too dangerous for Kayla! And that if we go _near anything_ that is attacking today, they will ground my TARDIS in _any possible way!_ Is that what you want to hear! That a bunch of humans think I can’t even _protect_ my Bonded and would lead her into danger?”

Martha’s eyes were huge by the time the Doctor was finished. She had looked over to Kayla for help and, thankfully, the brunette had stepped in. She very slowly wrapped the Doctor into a hug, resting her head on the Doctor’s chest.

_‘It’s alright Doctor,’_ she said as soothingly as possible. _‘I trust you with my life. If you think that it’s safe then it’s safe. Our child will be fine – UNIT is wrong.’_

The Doctor’s breathing slowed down as he tightened his arms around his Bonded. _‘But what if they’re right? I can’t risk that happening to our family.’_

_‘We’re already here, Doctor. I’ll…I’ll stay in the TARDIS and monitor the situation.’_

_‘That…that might work,’_ the Doctor reluctantly agreed.

* * *

So Kayla took over the TARDIS piloting as they headed for the their first destination: a creepy old house.

“Do we have time to stop for some snacks?” Kayla asked, already feeling her stomach grumbling. The TARDIS refused to stock chocolate, and odd and very annoying quirk. The idea of _anything_ with some chocolate in it made her mouth start to water.

Martha looked down at her watch. “We should,” she said with a nod.

Kayla landed the TARDIS and stepped out into the street along with Martha and the Doctor. The trio headed into a shop where a young, pretty blond woman was looking over a piece of paper on the counter in front of them.

Kayla quickly raided the snack food they had and placed several bars of chocolate on the counter along with a bag of crisps.

“Sorry to bother you,” Kayla started, “but we’re in a hurry…”

Her voice trailed off as the girl’s head shot up and her eyes widened. “Oh my god!” she gasped. “Oh my god…Kayla!”

Kayla took a step back so that she was next to the Doctor.

“Do I know you?” She asked.

The girl bobbed her head. “You helped me when…oh my god it was _me.”_

Kayla frowned and looked over at Martha and the Doctor, who seemed just as puzzled as she was. “What was you?” Kayla asked.

Grabbing the piece of paper off the counter, she handed it to the Doctor. “Okay. Listen. One day you're going to get stuck in 1969. Make sure you've got this with you. You're going to need it.”

The Doctor looked down at the paper, and frowned at the woman. “Thank you,” he said uncertainty. Mentally, he allowed Kayla to see the paper herself as well, so that she could also read the words.

Logically, it was rather…lazy, of the Doctor and Kayla to do that. Kayla could easily shift forwards to look down at the paper in front of her. But ever since the Doctor and Kayla had stopped being humans, the two couldn’t help themselves from using the mental link every time they could. Their only regret from this new practice was Martha. They couldn’t bring her into a mental conversation, which meant that sometimes Martha, or anyone else around them, would be standing there, staring at them, while the Doctor and Kayla had their own private conversation.

Like currently.

It took both the Doctor and Kayla quite a few moments to register that the blonde woman behind the counter was speaking to them. “-all on the house,” they barely caught. Already, Martha was scooping up the snacks on the counter and was thanking the woman. She gave the Doctor a light shove as she headed for the door, causing the Time Lord to shake his head.

_‘We should probably follow her,’_ he suggested, which drew a nod from Kayla.

The group headed for the TARDIS. The Doctor paused for a few seconds. His back stiffened as he felt a very familiar sense of _wrongness._ He turned on the spot, looking around, but saw nothing. He frowned and thought about calling something about, but then Kayla was headed over, concerned, and the sense of _wrongness_ faded away. Still slightly frowning, though, the Doctor headed with Kayla to the TARDIS.

Meanwhile, though, Captain Jack Harkness watched, his arms crossed. He had already made up his mind that the next time he saw the TARDIS, he would hitch a ride, yet now he stood, watching, and not making a move towards the spaceship. He still had work to do, so he would have to stay with Torchwood 3 for just a bit longer.

Only then would he allow himself to be with his daughter again.


	28. Blink Pt. 1

The TARDIS materialized in a small, run down room of a much larger old Victorian house. Kayla stood at the console, a frown on her lips as she watched the Doctor and Martha leave the TARDIS. She had the monitor in front of her, so that she could watch everything happening. And she could speak to the Doctor through their mental link.

But standing in the TARDIS as Martha and the Doctor left to face some sort of horrible danger felt wrong to Kayla. She was the Doctor’s Bonded, she was supposed to be by his side _always._ Yet it was Martha who was walking out with the Doctor.

Not liking the situation one bit, Kayla touched the monitor so that she could look around the room that the TARDIS had landed in. There was old, peeling wall paper and an open side that led to a run-down garden with a statue in it.

_‘I don’t see anything that would require our attention,’_ Kayla told the Doctor. _‘It’s just a run-down house. I’m surprised someone hasn’t torn it down.’_

On the monitor, Kayla could see the Doctor tilt her heads at her words. _‘Can you pull up the records? This place is too run-down to live in and no one has fixed it up.’_

Typing up the address for the house, Kayla frowned as _several_ files about the house came up. Scrolling to the most recent one, she read it. _‘Doctor, that house is owned by someone. An old man named Johnathan Holmes. It says that he moved in two days ago so he should be in there.’_

_‘Kayla, there’s no one here. I would have heard him walking over.’_

Kayla swallowed hard. She forced herself not to shout through the mental link to the Doctor to get him to come back to the TARDIS because perhaps Mr. Holmes was out shopping – but that excuse felt weak. Going back to the image of the Doctor and Martha, she watched, trying to remain calm, as Martha peered into the garden connected to the room.

“Doctor,” she could hear her say in the video, “there’s nothing here, except for that ugly statue.”

The Doctor went over to Martha’s side and peered out at the garden as well. “It’s not _that_ bad,” he said with a shrug.

The Doctor turned away from the garden and headed over to the door to the rest of the house, Martha following and Kayla watching. The Time Lord opened up the door and looked around the landing and the rest of the house. There was a fine layer of dust everywhere, according to the Doctor’s thoughts, which made Kayla frown.

_‘Maybe he just hadn’t come over to this wing yet,’_ the Doctor suggested as he felt Kayla’s anxiety.

The Doctor turned away from the door and gave Martha shrug. “I don’t think there’s anything in here for us.”

Martha, who had also turned away, nodded half-heartedly. Her attention was clearly somewhere else, prompting the Doctor to wave his hand in front of her face. “Martha?”

Martha frowned and moved the Doctor’s hand, her gaze set into the garden. On the monitor, Kayla moved the image so she could see into the garden as well. It took her a moment to register the difference. But when she did, her mind instantly went into panic mode.

She had heard about the Weeping Angels at the Time Agency. They were annoying at best and a menace at worst. Sometimes they would get a hit, so they would go out to track the person down, only for the Weeping Angels to have gotten them. Since the Weeping Angels sent people to the past randomly, it would be next to impossible to find the hit again. The only way anyone could was if they were touched by the same Angel, but since they all looked alike and they all traveled in packs, that was also something that was practically impossible.

_‘Doctor! Weeping Angels!’_ Kayla warned, though it was likely too late. The cloister bells in the TARDIS started, punctuating the tension in the console room as the Doctor whirled around on the monitor.

“Martha,” he instructed, “keep your eyes on that statue. Whatever you do, don’t blink!”

Martha did as she was told, keeping her eyes on the statue. “What is it?” she asked.

“It’s a Weeping Angel. We’re lucky though, we only got-“ the Doctor cut himself off as the door behind him opened. He turned to face it, seeing _two_ other Weeping Angels standing there.

“Okay,” the Doctor let out a breath. “We have three. But that’s fine because we’re close to the TARDIS. We can just edge over-“

“Doctor!” Martha cried out. She had blinked, just for a fraction of a second, and already her lone Weeping Angel had crossed from the garden and into the room itself.

Kayla who was watching this all on the monitor, cursed. The Doctor and Martha were too far away from the TARDIS to edge over safely without one of them, if they were lucky, getting caught. The Angels were just too close and too fast.

_‘I could come out and help,’_ Kayla suggested tentatively, but the Doctor shot down that idea.

_‘If you get touched something could happen to the babies,’_ he warned.

Kayla hissed in frustration and slammed her hand on the console, causing the TARDIS to make an annoyed noise back at her.

_‘I’m not just going to stand here and watch you get taken by Weeping Angels!’_

That sentence, however, gave the Doctor an impossibly stupid idea. Kayla could hear his thoughts, though she couldn’t keep up, so she had no idea _how_ he thought that this was anywhere close to a good idea.

“Martha, we need to get touched by the _same_ Weeping Angel,” he said quickly. “Otherwise this will never work.”

“What happens if it touches us?” Martha asked.

“It’s hard to explain under pressure,” the Doctor replied. “Just blink Martha!”

Martha growled in frustration. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to blink!” she protested.

But, during her protest, she had made the mistake in blinking, giving the Weeping Angel it’s chance to grab _two_ tasty meals. Kayla could only watch in complete horror as Martha _and_ the Doctor disappeared on the monitor. She watched as the Weeping Angels turned and faced the TARDIS, their hands reaching out for it hungrily.

“Oh no you don’t!” Kayla shouted. She had no idea _what_ would happen if the TARDIS was taken by the Angels, but it couldn’t be good. She started to try and pilot the TARDIS out, but it seemed the TARDIS had other idea. Kayla could only grip onto the console as the TARDIS took off, it’s motor spinning and the cloister bells thankfully dying out.

When it landed with a thud, Kayla sat in the console room, the silence unnerving. She reached out with her mental link. She could still _feel_ the Doctor, but she couldn’t speak to him. It was like radio static, as if they were just too far away too connect.

Kayla couldn’t help but shiver at the thought. Her hand went to her stomach as she thought about what this could mean for _both_ of their brains. Too long apart and not only would their mental health deteriorate, but so would their bodies. The Doctor had never said _how_ long was “too long,” which made the entire situation even worse.

For the first time in a very long time, Kayla felt the urge to cry. She hadn’t felt like that since she had realized Jack had died. Her own father, dead. Now she sat in the TARDIS, her hand on her stomach. “I’ll protect you,” she vowed into the silence. “No matter what, I will make sure you’re safe.”

Around her, she felt the TARDIS hum soothingly. She gave a small, sad smile at the noise.

* * *

Despite how little sleep Kayla and the Doctor, being Time Lords after all, needed, Kayla found herself waking up after, from what she could gather, a full 8 hours of sleep. She had fallen fitfully asleep, her nose pressed into the pillow the Doctor usually used. Now, waking up alone, made the realization hit even worse than before. For a moment, she felt the same urge to cry as she had last night, but she didn’t allow herself to return to that state. Instead, she forced herself out of the bed and pulled on a blue dress. It hid her stomach enough that it made it seem smaller than it actually was.

Pulling on some shoes as well, Kayla walked through the silent TARDIS and to the console. She grabbed the monitor and pulled up the image of where the outside of the TARDIS was.

“A police parking lot?” she mused.

The TARDIS hummed in response, making Kayla grin. She gave the monitor a loving tap and then turned towards the door. “I should probably look around the area.”

As the TARDIS hummed again, Kayla pushed open the door and closed it with a satisfying click behind her. The key was safe in her pocket, something that she checked often as she snuck out of the parking lot and into the open street. For a moment, she looked around, trying to place the area, when she saw a familiar building.

It was the shop from earlier. Something that made Kayla’s brow furrow. The girl had said that the Doctor would get trapped in the 60s, and had recognized Kayla. Perhaps she knew about the Weeping Angels!

She hurried over to the store, her hearts beating quickly, only to find it empty, except for a young man who looked up at her.

“Hullo,” he greeted without much enthusiasm.

Kayla nodded back. She looked around the shop, seeing the same pile of food she had Martha had gotten to earlier. It was a rather uninspiring shop, really. There were some DVDS piled up here and there, but nothing else really popped out.

“Do you have a blonde woman who works here?” Kayla asked the man.

He frowned. “No woman works here, last time I checked.” He looked up at her with confusion etched plainly on his face. “Why?”

Kayla shrugged, not willing to give an answer. She knew that she would sound insane if she started rambling about some blonde woman. “What movie would you recommend?” She asked, quickly changing the subject.

At this topic, the man seemed to perk up. “Well _this_ movie,” he started while holding up the movie in question, “Has a special _Easter Egg.”_

Kayla frowned. “Like…candy?”

The man stared at her for a few minutes. “You’re joking, right?” At Kayla’s still questioning face, the man groaned. “No, it’s not _candy._ It’s a hidden thing in a movie that’s usually a nod to something for a laugh. But the Easter Egg I’m referring to is way cooler. Ya see, it’s a guy that just sits there, talking, like he’s having a conversation. No one knows who he should be talking to though.”

“Sounds interesting,” Kayla said with a frown. “Do you have a video of him?”

The man nodded. “It’s in back. Just tell Lawrence that Banto sent you back.”

Making her way around the desk, Kayla walked to the back of the store to find a blond haired youthful man sitting, staring intently at the TV while a man was saying, _“Quite possibly.”_

Kayla gasped at the voice and stared at the TV in complete shock. She knew that voice, she would know it anywhere. It was her Bonded!

The man, Lawrence, looked up at her sudden noise. “Hello,” he greeted. “Did Banto send you back? I can restart the tape if you want.”

Nodding her head quickly, Kayla grabbed a stool and pulled it up so she was also sitting next to the TV.

There was a long pause as the Doctor sat there, his black glasses on, staring into the camera intently. In his hands, Kayla could see the same piece of paper the blonde woman had given them.

“Who’s that?” Kayla choked out, hoping that she sounded confused.

“The Doctor,” Lawrence said with a smirk. He made the voice sound much more majestic then the man himself would ever actually say it…unless he was showing off, that is.

_“Yep, that’s me,”_ the Doctor agreed, making Kayla pause.

“You did that on purpose,” she accused Lawrence. Because, for a second there, it sounded as if the Doctor was having a conversation with them.

Lawrence shrugged. “It sounds like he’s replying but he always says that.”

_“Yes I do,”_ the Doctor backed up.

“How many times have you watched this?” Kayla asked the young man with a slight frown.

The man gave a slight grin. “Enough times to have a transcript. See.” He pulled out a piece of paper with a list of sentences jotted down on them. “Everything he says. 'Yep, that's me,' 'Yes I do,' 'Yep, and this,' next is...”

_“Are you going to read out the whole thing?”_ this time it wasn’t just the Doctor talking but Lawrence and the Doctor speaking together. Lawrence had the dignity to look sheepish.

Kayla leaned down and paused the movie. “What is this?”

Lawrence smiled. “It’s the best Easter Egg ever,” he explained simply. He probably would have gone into more detail if a young, pretty blonde woman hadn’t stepped into the back just then. Kayla whirled around and stared at her. It was the girl from the shop!

Lawrence also saw her and gave her a smile. “Hello. Can I help you?”

“Hi,” the woman greeted. She looked back to the TV and frowned at it.

_“I'm a time traveler-“_ Lawrence paused the TV quickly.

“Hang on. We've met, haven't we?”

At this question, from Lawrence, the woman smiled. “It’ll come to you.”

For a moment, Lawrence stared at her blankly. And then Kayla saw his mouth fall open and his face to pale. He shook his head once, and then another time. “Oh, my God!”

“There it is,” the woman said with a small laugh.

“Sorry. Sorry again about the whole...”

The woman quickly cut him off, with the smallest hint of a blush on her cheeks. “Message from your sister.”

“Oh! Okay! What? What is it? What's the message?” Lawrence asked with a frown.

The woman dug her hands into the pockets of her jacket. “She's had to go away for a bit,” she said.

But Kayla, who was watching, could instantly see that that was a lie – or, at the very least, nowhere close to the whole story.

“Where?” Lawrence asked.

“Just a work thing. Nothing to worry about,” the woman brushed off with a shrug.

Lawrence seemed kind of down, but he still nodded and said, “Okay.”

“And…” at this point, the woman’s voice trailed off as she looked _anywhere_ but at the man.

“And what?” Lawrence prompted.

“She loves you,” the woman blurted out.

“She what?!” Judging by Lawrence’s reaction, it was not common for his sister to say something like that when she ‘left for work.’ Further backing up Kayla’s belief that something was amiss.

The woman seemed frustrated with Lawrence’s reaction, so she quickly said, “She said to say. She just sort of mentioned it. She loves you. There, that's nice, isn't it?”

“Is she ill?” Lawrence asked quickly as he leaned forwards to try and study the woman before him more closely.

In response, the woman took a small step backwards and then shook her head. “No! No.”

“Am I ill?” Lawrence checked.

“No!”

“Is this a trick?”

“No,” the woman said in a ‘final’ sort of way. “She loves you.”

_“Or I was-“_ Lawrence paused the TV once again.

“Who is this guy?” the woman asked with a frown.

Lawrence just shook his head. “Sorry, the pause thing keeps slipping. Stupid thing.”

The woman stared at the screen critically for a long moment. “Last night at Kathy's, you had him on those screens. That same guy. Talking about, I dunno, blinking or something.”

Kayla shivered at the words. He was likely saying something about Weeping Angels, a warning of some sort. But that left the question: Why would he need to warn about Weeping Angels?

As Lawrence and the woman continued to talk, Kayla sat on her stool, listening as they talked about the Easter Eggs. She briefly registered Lawrence and then woman leaving the room, and only realized she should probably leave when she realized that the woman had left as well.

And if she hadn’t left when she had, she wouldn’t have caught the woman. Instead, she was able to shout: “Hey! You!”

The woman turned around and frowned at Kayla. “You were in the shop,” she realized. It had started to drizzle faintly around them.

Kayla nodded. “You mentioned that Lawrence’s sister, Kathy, is traveling for work.”

The woman nodded and crossed her arms almost defensively. “Yeah, ‘cause she _is.”_

Kayla shook her head. “Not by choice,” she corrected.

The woman took a step back from Kayla. “Look. I have no idea who you are and _you_ have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Does it have something to do with Wester Drumlins?” Kayla asked. The woman’s mouth fell open and she gaped at Kayla, which prompted Kayla to continue. “Because I was just there. I lost two good people there and I intend to get them back. I think we can help each other.”

The woman nodded, almost robotically. “I’m Sally Sparrow,” she introduced.

“Kayla H-Smith,” Kayla frowned at the way her last name came out, so she repeated it. “I’m Kayla Smith.”


	29. Blink Pt. 2

In 1969, the Doctor stood up. His back was stiff from shooting the video with Martha. But according to the transcript in front of him, it _had_ to be useful. He looked over at Martha, who was frowning down at the camera footage. “How are we going to get this into _any_ DVDs, let alone the ones need to get into,” Martha asked.

The Doctor sighed. “Hopefully we can find someone that’s in publishing.”

Martha turned to frown to the Time Lord. “Why can’t Kayla just get us?” she asked.

It was a question the Doctor had heard from Martha many times. And many times the Doctor replied in the same way: “Kayla has no idea what year we’re in and I can’t tell her mentally. We’re effectively cut off from her, which means unless we did something _huge_ then there’s no way for Kayla to know if we’re in 1969 or 1869.”

Martha sighed at the familiar response from the Doctor. “I know, I know,” she admitted. “I just wish there’s some way we can get _out_ of 1969 _now.”_

The Doctor nodded, his eyes dropped down to the counter. “Me too,” he agreed. “I’m worried about Kayla. She’s out there, about to have our child, and I can’t do anything but wait until this timey-wimey detector goes off.” He glared down at the offending detector, his eyes urging it ding out.

It didn’t.

Martha yawned and rubbed at her eyes. “I’m going to head to bed,” she said. “ _One_ of us has work tomorrow.”

Nodding in agreement, the Doctor stayed next to the detector. Martha watched him for several seconds, but he made no moves to get up. Something that, she realized, she had expected.

It was horrible to see the Doctor, who had always been so energic and _happy_ to change to frowning all the time and taking long naps in the afternoon. He had alluded to this happening, and had warned Martha that if they didn’t get to Kayla soon, then there would be major issues for both of them.

She opened her mouth to say something when the timey-wimey detector whirled loudly and _dinged._

The Doctor picked up the timey-wimey detector just in time for it to whirl and ding again!

“Come on!” he called over to Martha, the morose silence now long forgotten for him. “Someone else is here! _They’ll help!”_

* * *

So Martha and the Doctor ran, the Doctor two steps ahead with the time-wimey detector in front of him. “We’re close now,” he warned Martha.

And they were close, because Martha could see through the fog a young black man slumped against a wall, rubbing at his head. Martha winced in sympathy as she remembered the horrible headache that was one of the side-effects of the Weeping Angels.

“Welcome,” the Doctor greeted.

“Where am I?” the man asked in response. He looked up at the approaching Martha and the Doctor in confusion, taking in their clothes and the time-wimey detector in the Doctor’s hand, which was now whirling, clicking, beeping, and dinging.

“1969. Not bad, as it goes. You've got the moon landing to look forward to,” the Doctor explained.

Martha nodded at the moon landing. “Oh, the moon landing's brilliant. We went four times. Back when we had transport...” her voice trailed off meaningfully as she gave the Doctor a look.

The Doctor huffed. “Working on it!” he reminded her.

“How did I get here?” the man asked.

The Doctor seemed to brighten up at the question. Normally that expression on his face would have made Martha groan and start to shift her weight from foot to foot as the Doctor rambled on, but it had been so long since Martha had seen the Doctor be, well, _the Doctor,_ that she instead found herself listening eagerly to what he said, despite already knowing the information.

“The same way we did. The touch of an angel. Same one, probably, since you ended up in the same year,” the Doctor explained. The man, frowning, tried to get up, which caused the Doctor to throw his hands forwards and shake his head while rapidly saying: “No no no no no, don't get up. Time travel without a capsule, nasty. Catch your breath, don't go swimming for half an hour.”

The man stared at the Doctor in complete confusion. “I don’t. I can’t,” he protested.

“Fascinating race, the Weeping Angels. The only psychopaths in the universe to kill you nicely. No mess, no fuss, they just zap you into the past and let you live to death. The rest of your life used up and blown away in the blink of an eye. You die in the past, and in the present they consume the energy of all the days you might have had, all your stolen moments. They're creatures of the abstract. They live off potential energy,” the Doctor said. He phrased it as if he was talking to the man in front of him, but it sounded more like he was just speaking to the air.

“What in God's name are you talking about?” the man asked.

“Trust me. Just nod when he stops for breath,” Martha suggested.

The Doctor rolled his eyes but didn’t comment. Instead, he held up the time-wimey detector proudly. “Tracked you down with this. This is my timey-wimey detector. It goes ding when there's stuff. Also, it can boil an egg at 30 paces, whether you want it to or not, actually, so I've learned to stay away from hens. It's not pretty when they blow.”

The man on the ground shook his head. “I don't understand. Where am I?”

“1969, like he says,” Martha answered promptly.

The Doctor nodded. “Normally, I’d offer you a lift home, but there are some issues with my motor. So I need you to send a message to Kayla Smith and Sally Sparrow. And I'm sorry, Billy, I am very, very sorry. It's gonna take you a while.”

* * *

The Doctor was now agitated. He had given Billy the instructions for Kayla and Sally. He had given him the video as well. And now all he had to do was wait. Which should be simple for him. He was, after all, part of an advanced species of aliens that knew everything there was about time and space. Waiting should have been child’s play for him.

But it was just _so_ boring. Martha had her job at a shop, which meant she wasn’t around. And Kayla was still in the present, which meant that she wasn’t around as well. So the Doctor had no one to speak to, besides himself, and had nothing to mess with. Martha had, after coming home to a destroyed house, removed everything that could be taken apart.

The Doctor groaned and scratched at his hair, making it stand up. He was going insane. He could feel it already. He wanted to something, _anything._

_‘Kayla?’_ He tried mentally. But static was the only reply.

* * *

Kayla, in the present, was also agitated, though for far different reasons then the Doctor. She was sitting at the old mansion where this had all begin with Sally Sparrow, the blonde woman, as Lawrence set up a DVD player. The floor creaked as Lawrence leaned back and looked up at Sally and Kayla. “Okay. There he is.”

“The Doctor,” Kayla breathed. She clutched at the TARDIS key in her pocket, the only thing she had left of her husband. The Weeping Angels had taken the TARDIS when Kayla had left. She had run down to it only to find the phone box missing. She knew, though, that it was somewhere in the house. She would make it her goal to bring it to the Doctor.

“That’s really his name? Just ‘the Doctor?’” Lawrence asked with a small frown.

Kayla shot him a hard look. “ _Yes,”_ she nearly snapped. “He’s the Doctor.”

_“Yep. That’s me,”_ the Doctor seemed to agree.

Sally looked over at the screen in shock. “Okay, that was scary,” she admitted.

“No, it sounds like he's replying, but he always says that,” Lawrence explained.

_“Yes, I do.”_

“And that.”

_“Yep, and this.”_

Sally gasped in shock. “Can he hear us? Oh my god can he really hear us?”

Kayla shook her head. “He can’t. Lawrence has a transcript.”

On the floor, Lawrence nodded. “Everything he says. ‘Yep, that's me.’ ‘Yes, I do.’ ‘Yep, and this.’ Next it's...”

_“Are you really going to read that whole thing?”_ Lawrence and the Doctor said together, like they had in the shop with Kayla.

“Sorry,” Lawrence said with a sheepish look.

“Who are you?” Sally asked the Doctor.

_“I'm a time traveller. Or I was. I'm stuck in 1969.”_

Kayla inhaled sharply at the year, and then mentally cursed as she realized that even with the year, she still didn’t know where they were.

_“We're stuck. All of space and time, he promised me. Now I've got a job in a shop, I've got to support him!”_ Martha’s voice came out through the DVD player as she leaned into the frame, using the Doctor’s shoulder to support herself.

_“Martha!”_ the Doctor protested.

_“Sorry,”_ Martha said in a very unapologetic voice as she moved out of the frame.

“I’ve seen this bit before,” Sally said suddenly.

_“Quite possibly,”_ the Doctor said back.

“1969, that's where you're talking from?” Sally checked.

_“’Fraid so.”_

Sally shook her head. “But you're replying to me. You can't know exactly what I'm gonna say, 40 years before I say it!”

“38,” Kayla corrected quickly, just as the Doctor said the same number as well.

“I'm getting this down! I'm writing in your bits,” Lawrence gasped from the floor.

Both Kayla and Sally ignored him. “How? How is this possible? Tell me!” Sally snapped at the DVD.

“Not so fast,” Lawrence said.

_“People don't understand time. It's not what you think it is.”_

“Then what is it?” Sally asked.

The Doctor frowned. _“Complicated.”_

“Tell me,” Sally ordered.

_“Very complicated.”_

“I'm clever and I'm listening. And don't patronize me because people have died, and I'm not happy. Tell me.”

_“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint, it's more like a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff.”_

Kayla let out a laugh at the Doctor’s explanation. “That is _so_ not right. Time isn’t wibbly, wobbly, or timey-wimey.”

_“Kayla!”_

At the Doctor’s whine, Kayla jerked back. “What?” she snapped. “It’s not like you can hear me.”

_“Well I_ can _hear you,”_ the Doctor corrected.

“This isn’t possible,” Sally breathed.

Lawrence shook his head. “No, it’s brilliant!” he corrected.

_“Not hear you exactly, but I know everything you're going to say.”_

“Always gives me shivers, that bit,” Lawrence admitted with a shiver.

“How can you know what I’m going to say?” Sally asked.

_“Look to your left.”_

Kayla and Sally did just that, only to see Lawrence sitting with the paper on his lap and a pen in his hand as he said: “What does he mean by, ‘look to your left?’ I've written tons about that on the forums. I think it's a political statement.”

“It’s you,” Kayla said. “You’re making the transcript.

Lawrence nodded. “Wait until this hits the net. This will explode the egg forums.”

_“I've got a copy of the finished transcript. It's on my Autocue.”_

“How can you have a copy of the finished transcript. It’s still being written,” Sally pointed out.

_“I told you. I’m a time traveler. I got in the future.”_

“Okay, let me get my head 'round this. You're reading from a transcript of a conversation you're still having? Wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey,” Sally said with a shake of her head.

_“What matters is we can communicate. We have got big problems now. They've taken the blue box, haven't they? The angels have the phone box.”_

Kayla jerked forwards. “Yes,” she gasped out. “They stole it from me. I have the key though, so they can’t get in.”

Sally looked over at Kayla with a frown. “What does he mean about angels? You mean those statue things?”

_“Creatures from another world.”_

“But they’re just statues,” Sally said with a shake of her head.

“Only when you see them,” Kayla corrected.

Sally looked over at her. “What does that mean?”

_“Lonely assassins, they were called. No-one knows where they came from. They're as old as the universe, or very nearly. They've survived this long as they have the most perfect defence system ever evolved. They are quantum-locked. They don't exist when being observed. The moment they're seen by any other living creature they freeze into rock. No choice. It's a fact of their biology. In the sight of any living thing, they literally turn to stone. And you can't kill a stone. Course, a stone can't kill you either. But then you turn your head away, then you blink, and oh, yes it can!”_

Kayla stared up at the statue that was standing in the garden and, keeping her eyes on it, leaned over to Lawrence. “Keep your eyes on that and _don’t blink.”_

_“That's why they cover their eyes. They're not weeping, they can't risk looking at each other. Their greatest asset is their greatest curse. They can never be seen. The loneliest creatures in the universe. And I'm sorry, I am very, very sorry, it's up to you now. But you have Kayla, so she should help.”_

Sally looked over at Kayla and then back at the DVD. “What am I supposed to do?”

_“The blue box, it's my time machine. There is a world of time energy in there they could feast on forever. The damage they can do can switch off the sun. You have got to send it back to me! Kayla can pilot it.”_

“But I don’t know where you are!” Kayla protested. “I only know the year, Doctor!”

_“And that's it, I'm afraid. There's no more from you on the transcript, that's all I've got. I dunno what stopped you talking, but I can guess. They're coming. The angels are coming for you. But listen, your life could depend on this. Don't blink! Don't even blink. Blink and you're dead. They are fast, faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, don't look away, and don't blink!”_  He paused and then whispered, _“I know you can do it Kayla. I love you. Good luck!”_

The DVD froze, leaving the image of the Doctor on it. “Doctor!” Kayla cried out.

“No, don't, you can't!” Sally also protested.

“I'll rewind him!” Lawrence said. He got up to the DVD player and started to press several buttons.

“That won’t do anything!” Kayla snapped.

And then the three froze as they all made eye contact. “You’re not looking at the statue,” Sally breathed.

“Neither are you two,” Lawrence said with a jerk of his head.

The trio looked up to see the Weeping Angel much closer, its face distorted.

Kayla, Sally, and Lawrence all jumped to their feet.

“We need to keep looking at it!” Kayla warned.

“There's just one, right, there's just this one. We're okay if we keep staring at this one statue, everything's gonna be fine.”

“There’s three more,” Kayla corrected.

“Three?!”

“They were upstairs, I think I heard them moving,” Sally admitted.

“Where? Three moving _where?”_

Kayla slowly started to back out. “Okay. I’ll just pop down and look around. If I can get to the front door then we’re fine. We can get in the car and run. Just remember what the Doctor said: don't even blink!”

“Who blinks? I'm too scared to blink.” Lawrence whimpered.

Nodding, Kayla looked around the landing. It was empty. She breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the door. Trying the handle, she frowned as it wouldn’t turn. It was locked, and likely barricaded on the other side, leaving them trapped. “They've locked it. They've locked us in!” She yelled to Lawrence and Sally.

“Why?” Sally yelled back.

Kayla put her hand in her pocket and wrapped it around the key momentarily. “I have something they want!” She called to the others.

“What?” this time it was Lawrence who response.

“I have the key. They must have followed Sally when she left and that led them to me which led them to the TARDIS. And now they have that!”

“Give them the key!” Lawrence yelled down.

“I can’t!  They can put out the sun and kill _everyone_! I will _not_ be responsible for that.” Trying to calm down, she added: “I’m going to check the back door. You two wait there.”

Ignoring Lawrence’s fearful moan at that, Kayla ran to the backdoor and tried to open it, but like the other door, it was locked.

“It’s locked!”

Kayla winced at the barricade of shouts that came from both Lawrence and Sally. They were both terrified, and they were making their position known.

“They’ve blocked off the back door, but there's a cellar. There might be a way out, delivery hatch or something.”

In response, she heard Lawrence and Sally slam the door shut and run down the stairs to meet Kayla at the cellar. Kayla gave them quick look over and saw no obvious wounds. So she turned away from them and pushed open the door. The trio walked down the stairs to the cellar and found it with multiple Weeping Angels.

“As long as we can see them, we’re fine,” Kayla reminded them. She nodded up to the light bulb above them. She looked around the room and smiled at the sight of the TARDIS. “Once we get into the TARDIS we can leave.”

The door behind them opened and close. “There’s ours,” Sally hissed to Lawrence and Kayla.

One of the Weeping Angels took the opportunity to point up at the light above it, cause Lawrence to whisper: “Why's it pointing at the...light?”

The horror they were in for became apparent as the light started to flicker. In the momentary darkness, the Weeping Angels moved closer…and closer.

“Oh my God! It’s turning out the lights!” Sally cried out.

“Run! To the TARDIS!” Kayla yelled.

The trio made it to the TARDIS, the light flickering more and more, the darkness staying longer than the light. Kayla’s hand shook as she tried to put it into the lock.

“Quickly!” Lawrence pressed.

“I’m trying!” Kayla yelled back.

“Hurry up! Get it open! They're getting faster!” Lawrence warned.

Kayla pressed the key in and struggled with the turning for a few seconds before the doors sprung up. She hurried inside, Lawrence and Sally hot on her heels. The doors slammed shut behind them.

The TARDIS hummed around them, recognizing Kayla’s presence. She sounded almost…tired though. As if she really wanted to take a nap. Kayla placed a hand on the console and frowned at the noise. “You okay?” she asked the TARDIS. In response, the TARDIS hummed back with a positive noise, though it was still a weaker noise than usual.

There was a sudden almost cough, causing Kayla to look over to see a blue, holographic Doctor standing there, giving her an almost stern look. Upon seeing her gaze, the hologram gave almost a nod to her before it spoke. “This is security protocol 712. This time capsule has detected the presence of an authorized control disc, valid one journey.”

Lawrence, who had been clutching the DVD case with the disc inside, opened it to find the item glowing.

“Please insert the disc and prepare for departure.”

Kayla walked over to Lawrence and took the DVD case and brought it back over to the console where a small slot had opened up. She was just about to put it in with the TARDIS shook violently, causing Kayla to trip and latch onto the console in a vain attempt to not fall. The Angels were rocking the TARDIS outside.

It seemed that Lawrence had come to the same conclusion, because he shouted out, “They’re trying to get in!”

Kayla popped the DVD inside and grabbed onto the console, feeling the ship start to take off. She turned around to address Sally and Lawrence, only to watch in stomach-turning horror as they started to fade away from the TARDIS.

“What’s happening?” Lawrence asked her frantically.

Kayla opened her mouth to reply, but Sally got there first. “Oh, my God! It's leaving us behind! Doctor, Kayla, no, you can't! Doctor! Kayla!”

Kayla was helpless to do anything as they disappeared completely from the TARDIS. She clutched onto the console frantically, feeling tears burning her eyes as she realized that the Doctor might have doomed them.

But those tears quickly evaporated as she realized that the Doctor had the completed transcript from Sally when they had met in the future. She started to smile as she realized that the Angels, so intent on their prize, had circled around the TARDIS to shake them out. So when the TARDIS dematerialized…

“They’re just statues now,” she breathed as she let out a small, shaky laugh.

And then the TARDIS landed. Kayla turned towards the door as they were opened by Martha, her face bright. Behind her was the Doctor, who bounded in and hugged Kayla like he hadn’t seen her in centuries.

_‘Doctor,’_ she breathed through the mental link. She knew that she could have just said it out loud, but after not being able to use it for ages, Kayla couldn’t help but use it no matter what.

_‘Kayla,’_ the Doctor greeted in the same fashion. He leaned down and kissed her gently, a kiss that Kayla readily returned.

* * *

It was several hours later when the Doctor piloted the TARDIS off and into space. Martha had fallen asleep gratefully in her bed, and Kayla was also asleep. He had checked before he headed off. Which meant that the Doctor had ample time to send a “friendly” message to a man in Cardiff to inform him to stay out of their way for a few hours as they were there.

He heard a noise behind him, making the Doctor turn around quickly. Kayla was standing there, rubbing at her eyes sleepily. “You alright?” she asked him in a groggy voice.

The Doctor nodded. “I just wanted to check on the TARDIS. She needs a bit of a refuel, so we’ll stop by Cardiff for her.”

Kayla seemed halfway through a nod but instead changed to a long yawn. Laughing, the Doctor went over and stared to steer Kayla to their bedroom. “Come on sleepyhead,” he said gently. “We’ll head back to sleep and deal with everything in the morning.”

Kayla didn’t even bother to nod in response, instead she just hummed.

The Doctor, whose mind was somewhere else, didn’t even think to make sure that the message had gone through.

And far away in Cardiff, a certain Captain Jack was cleaning up the hub with the rest of Torchwood Three. He didn’t even notice that the hand that Owen had dubbed a “weird fetish,” was acting up more than usual.


	30. Utopia Pt. 1

The TARDIS set down in Ronald Dahl Plass in Cardiff. Kayla knew the place well, having been there with the Doctor when he was still in his ninth form along with Rose and Mickey and the Slitheen and…and Jack. She found herself thinking of her late father more often. Her memories felt incomplete when she came to Jack. She often talked to the Doctor about it, mentioning how she wished she could have had more time with her father, especially when they knew that they were related.

“Cardiff,” the Doctor said to Martha as a way of greeting her.

Martha blinked at him. “Cardiff?” she repeated, as if she was checking whether or not she had heard correctly.

The Doctor nodded. “Ah, but the thing about Cardiff is that it's built on a rift in time and space-just like California and the San Andreas Fault. The rift _bleeds_ energy. Every now and then I need to open up the engines, soak up the energy and use it as fuel.”

Martha frowned. “So it’s a pit stop.”

“In so many words, yes,” Kayla agreed.

“Wait a minute. They had an earthquake in Cardiff a couple years ago. Was that you two?” Martha asked, crossing her arms. She had been working in A&E that night and it had been a nightmare.

The Doctor leaned down on the console and hummed in response. “Bit of trouble with the Slitheen,” he admitted.

“But that was a long time ago,” Kayla reminded him. “He was a different man back then.”

Turning away from the console, the Doctor clapped his hands together. “Finito. All powered up.”

Kayla popped down on the seat and gave the Doctor a smile. “Much calmer then the last time,” she remarked.

The Doctor pulled the monitor over and looked into it. His mental shield slammed down, making Kayla jerk up and look over at him, but he waved his hand at her, brushing off her concern. Frowning, Kayla stayed put and watched as the Doctor started to pilot the TARDIS faster than he ever had before.

“Do you need any help?” Kayla offered.

The Doctor shook his head. Sending the TARDIS into space, he didn’t even have time to shout a warning before the console sparked and the TARDIS shook violently. Instantly, the Doctor and Martha were thrown to the floor while Kayla latched onto the coral around her.

Martha crawled towards the console and gripped on the edges like the Doctor was doing. “What’s that?”

The Doctor looked at the monitor in shock. “We're accelerating?into the future. The year one billion. Five billion. Five trillion. 50 trillion. What? The year 100 trillion. That's impossible!”

“But that’s the end of the universe!” Kayla protested.

But the TARDIS kept spinning into the future, going faster and faster until the trio inside were dizzy. And then it landed with a thud. Silence fell around them. There wasn’t even a reassuring hum from the machine.

Slowly, the Doctor straightened. He hurried over to Kayla and helped her up. The two looked over to Martha to see her picking herself off the floor as well.

“We’ve landed,” Kayla said, breaking the silence with her whispered statement.

“So what’s out there?” Martha asked, looking at the couple.

The Doctor shook his head. “I don’t know,” he admitted with a worried look to Kayla.

Martha stared at him. “Say that again. That’s rare.”

“The Time Agency never went this far,” Kayla tried to explain.

The Doctor nodded to that. “Not even the Time Lords, too. We should leave. We should go. WE should really, really…go” His voice trailed off as he looked at Kayla, who nodded determinedly, and Martha, who only raised an eyebrow at him. The Doctor couldn’t help the smile that went across his face.

He started for the door, Kayla next to him and Martha behind them. He pushed open the door and registered a slight chill in the air as he stepped out on the ground with Kayla and Martha. It was almost peaceful…if it weren’t for the sudden horrified gasp that Kayla gave. He looked around and then left out a soft groan as he saw the same sight.

“Doctor…Doctor I thought he was _dead,”_ Kayla whispered. “How is he here?”

The Doctor frowned down at Captain Jack Harkness’ body. “I think,” he started carefully, “I think he came with us.”

Kayla knelt down beside him and placed a hand on his wrist. Her face broke as she felt no heartbeat. She turned to Martha, who, without words needing to be said, rushed back into the TARDIS to get a medic kit.

The Doctor knelt down next to her and took her free hand. “Kayla, he went through the vortex without _any_ protection. There’s no way-“

Kayla looked over at him with a tear-streaked face. “Do you think I don’t know that?” She whispered. “But we have to try. He’s my _father.”_

She looked up when Martha arrived and, upon her soft request, moved out of the way as the doctor-in-training started to try and bring Jack back to life. Martha didn’t ask any of the questions she wanted to, but instead worked in silence. Until she finally had to turn to Kayla, who had been sitting, holding his hand, and say: “I’m sorry, there’s no heartbeat. There’s nothing. He’s dead.”

And then Captain Jack Harkness jerked and gasped for air. He grabbed onto Kayla, who screamed.

“Oh well, so much for me,” Martha said with a shake of her head. She too had started when Jack had jerked up and was trying to breath normally.

Kayla stared down at the face of her father and broke into fresh tears. “It’s all right. Just breathe deep. I’ve got you now,” she said soothingly.

Jack flashed her that cocky smile. “Hey Kayla,” he greeted casually. “Long time, no see.”

Kayla laughed and leaned down and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug; a hug that he returned.

It took several moments for Kayla to pull back. Once she did, however, she hit Jack in the arm, _hard._ He winced and rubbed at the spot.  “I don’t think I deserved that,” he commented.

Kayla glared at him. “You didn’t even contact me! Do you realize how _worried_ I was? I thought you were dead!”

“It’s not like I had much of a choice,” Jack shot back. “You guys took off! I tried to get back to present day but there were a few complications.”

“You could have left a sign!”

“I tried to! But then Mr. TARDIS here comes waltzing over and says that you’re happier without me.”

Kayla shot to her feet and glared at the Doctor. _‘What. Did. You. Do?”_ She snapped mentally.

The Doctor winced. _‘You were obsessing over finding him. It was making you sick. I could see you failing before my eyes.’_

And then Kayla saw the memory flash through her eyes. She saw herself, with a sickly pale face and messy hair slick with sweat as she feverishly tried to pilot the TARDIS. She heard the Doctor ask her to rest only for her tell him no, that she couldn’t, that she would _never_ rest until she was with her father once more.

_‘So you faked his death?’_

_‘Not before making sure you would believe it.’_ The Doctor admitted with another wince as he felt Kayla’s pain and betrayal at that. What he had done was just…wrong. He knew that. But he had made himself ignore his guilt by convincing himself that it saved her from death. He had taken her memories and had shoved them far, far away. And now he was paying the price for that action by watching her face and seeing her remembered when he spoke to her about her father’s death.

_‘Doctor,’_ Kayla said, _‘I love you. I will always love you. But right now…’_ Kayla took a deep breath. _‘We’ll discuss it later.’_

The Doctor jerked his head into a nod. He watched as Kayla stepped over to her father, who had been watching the mental exchange along with Martha, and gave him a hug.

“I missed you Jack,” she whispered into his coat.

Jack smiled. “I missed you too Kayla.”

Pulling back from the hug, Jack turned to face the Doctor. Kayla hung back at his side, a sight that made the Doctor’s hearts break.

“Doctor,” Jack greeted coolly.

“Captain,” the Doctor replied in the same fashion.

Jack nodded crisply. “I have one question: The Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead. It said Rose Tyler.”

At the face that the Doctor made, Jack looked over at Kayla to see her making the same, disgusted face. “Touch subject, I see.”

“She’s alive, but in a parallel world along with Mickey and her mother. I’ll update you on the _rest_ of the details,” Kayla promised.

Jack nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.”

* * *

The foursome found themselves walking through the end of the universe. Kayla, Jack, and Martha walked side-by-side while the Doctor watched from behind, wanting to join in but knowing that he would be an unwanted guest in the conversation.

“So there I was, stranded in the year 200,100, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, and he goes off without me.”

“I was unconscious at the time,” Kayla added in.

Jack nodded. “But I had this.” Holding up his arm, he pulled back the sleeve of his coat to show his vortex manipulator. So engrossed in his story, he didn’t notice the way Kayla’s face shifted at the sight of it.

_‘I thought you threw that out into space.’_

_‘He needed it back so I gave it back to him.’_

Kayla nearly growled at what the Doctor was implying. _‘Did he know that you were lying to me?’_

_‘Until I could find a way to make sure he didn’t cause you any pain, I warned him against seeing you.’_

_‘He’s my father, Doctor! I have the right to-‘_ Kayla cut herself off and took a deep, calming breath. _‘The three of us will sit down and discuss this later.’_

Pulling back mentally, Kayla listened on the conversation just in time to hear Martha say to Jack: “That makes you more than 100 years old.”

Jack touched at his face. “And looking good, doncha think?” He asked cheekily.

“At least now you’re finally older than me,” Kayla pointed out with a small nudge.

Jack laughed. “Does that mean I can order you around and ground you?”

“In your dreams, _Captain.”_

Jack rolled his eyes. “Yes _Colonel.”_

Martha looked between the two. “Care to explain?” she asked.

“Jack and I worked at the Time Agency together. I started there when I was 10 and he started there much later. By then I had risen through the ranks and so I was the person who was supposed to make sure _he_ didn’t do anything stupid. I really don’t remember much…just that we were good, the best team. And then one day he and I woke up to find our memories gone. We ran from the Time Agency and started our life as con agents. We tried to con the Doctor but it went badly. He saved the world, and we joined with him.”

Jack nodded. “We only found out about our relationship when we were out. Kayla stole the Time Agency’s records and found mostly blacked out bits except for the parents bit. There wasn’t a mother on file, though.”

Martha blinked at the two of them and then looked at the Doctor before resting her gaze onto Jack. “And he just left you behind? Like that?”

The Doctor winced at the expression aimed towards him from Jack. “Yeah,” the Captain said, “Yeah, he did.”

Martha looked over at the Doctor, a frown on her face. “Do you just get bored with us one day and disappear?”

Kayla jumped in before the Doctor could. “Not if I have any say in it,” she promised. “I will make sure that _you_ get to walk out of the TARDIS doors.”

The Doctor had the dignity to look very, very sheepish. He watched as Kayla walked side-by-side with Jack. He couldn’t help but let his eyes flicker down to the hand _he_ usually held, which was now swinging freely at her side.

Martha stepped next to him. “Did you lie to her about her father?” she asked in a soft voice.

The Doctor nodded.

“And she found out about that lie, yeah?”

The Doctor nodded again.

Martha winced. “The best thing you can do is wait. And show her that she _can_ trust you. If Jack is about to get hurt, save him.”

The Doctor looked over at her. “Do you run an advice blog or something?”

Martha laughed. “My mum and dad were excellent view points on how to _not_ run a relationship.”

Away from them, Kayla turned around and shouted to Martha and the Doctor: “Oi! We’re at the end of the universe, edge of knowledge itself and you two are blogging! Hurry up!”

She turned back to Jack, who was laughing and hit him in the shoulder. “Don’t laugh at me, I’m just calling the kids.”

Jack nodded down to her stomach. “Three kids are a lot.”

Kayla placed her hand on her stomach. “I don’t know what to do, Jack,” she admitted in a quiet, small voice. “I thought you were dead. I mourned you…how could the Doctor lie to me?”

She rubbed at her eyes quickly. “I told him we would all sit down and talk about it, but at the same time all I want to do is punch him in the face and run back to the TARDIS and go live out my days on a farm or something.”

Jack gave Kayla a tight hug. “You’re strong, Kayla,” he reminded her as he pulled away. “And I’ll be beside you in whatever choice you make.”

Kayla relaxed slightly as the Doctor and Martha arrived with them, something that Jack noticed, but didn’t comment on. He could tell that she loved him, just as he could tell that the Doctor loved her. Even if Kayla was hurting, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before Kayla ended up next to the Doctor, the two hand-in-hand while they saved the universe.

Plus, as Jack looked at Kayla walking alone, he realized that the Doctor made Kayla smile in a way that even _he_ couldn’t do. It was that special, soft smile, one that flickered on her face when she would look over at the Doctor, before she reminded herself that she was angry with him and the face fell to the all too familiar mask that Jack had seen her wear many times before.

So it was this foursome, a father, a daughter, a husband, and a companion, that arrived a cliff’s edge in the end of the universe to stare down at some building that looked like they were carved out of the very rocks they sat next to.

“Is that a city?” Martha asked.

“A city or a hive. Or a nest. Or a conglomeration. Looks like it was grown. But look there. That’s like pathways, roads…Must have been some sort of life. Long ago,” the Doctor explained.

Martha shook her head. “What killed it?”

“Time,” Kayla answered. “Just time.”

The Doctor looked up at the sky next to her. “Everything’s dying now. All the great civilizations have gone. This isn’t just night. All the stars have burned up and faded away into nothing.”

Jack started at that information the Doctor had put out. “It must have an atmospheric shell. We should be frozen to death.”

Kayla nudged him. “Except for you,” she said with a laugh. Jack just smiled faintly.

Martha, however, was still staring out at the abandoned city. “What about the people? Does no one survive?”

“I suppose we have to hope. Life will find a way.” The Doctor said.

Jack looked sharply to see a lone figure running quickly. “Well, he’s not doin’ too bad,” he said as he pointed to him.

And then, behind him, an entire pack of humanoid people running behind him. The lone figure looked behind him and then sped up.

“Jack I think that’s-“

“A hunt!” the Doctor shouted, finishing what Kayla was about to say. “Come on!”

On the Doctor’s shout, the foursome ran. The Doctor and Jack took the lead while Martha, who could have gone much faster, stayed back with Kayla. The Time Lady was very close to having a child, any day now, from what Martha could tell. But because of that, the effort running took on her was far greater then it usually did. After only a couple of feet, Kayla was already huffing.

“Oh, I’ve missed this!” Jack called from out in front. Behind him, Kayla grumbled, making Martha laugh next to her.

And, of course, when they reached the figure from earlier, Jack was the first one there, so he grabbed him by the arms and said: “I’ve got you.”

The Doctor stood next to him, breathing hard. He looked behind to see Kayla and Martha heading towards them and he allowed himself to sigh in relief.

“We’ve gotta run! They’re coming! They’re coming!” the man said while pointing behind him where the humanoids were running to them.

Passing the man over to the Doctor’s arms, Jack pulled out his revolver and pointed it at the humanoids, who were still running towards them.

“You still have your squareness gun?” he asked Kayla, only for her to shake her head.

“I just leave it on the TARDIS,” She replied with a shrug. “Not like I ever really need it.”

Nodding, Jack pointed the gun squarely at the head of the hunt, only for the Doctor to grab his arm with a vice-like grip. “Jack, don’t you dare!”

Frowning at the Doctor, Jack relented and, pointing his gun into the air, fired a bullet. The humanoids skidded to a halt and eyed them critically, assessing the threat.

“What the hell are they?” Martha asked, staring at the humanoids. They looked human, but almost…gothic. And some of them, she realized with an amount of horror, had almost animal-like facial features.

“There’s more of them. We’ve got to keep going,” the man warned.

“I’ve got a ship nearby. It’s safe. It’s not far, it’s just over there,” the Doctor said. Pointing back the way they came, he saw the expression on the man’s face and turned to see _more_ of the humanoids running to block off that path. “Or maybe not.”

“We’re close to the silo. If we get to the silo, then we’re safe,” the man explained anxiously while looking behind him.

The Doctor looked over at Jack, Martha and Kayla. “Silo?”

“Silo,” Jack replied firmly.

“Silo for me,” Martha agreed.

And finally Kayla, who gave him a firm nod and said, “Silo.”

* * *

The five of them ran, hard, harder than Kayla would have preferred, really. But they were able to make it to the gates with the humanoids still behind them. Humans were milling about, some in a watchtower and some on the ground, but they all had guns pointing towards them when they arrived. Something that the Doctor not only noticed, but ended up moving in front of Kayla ever so slightly.

“It’s the Futurekind! Open the gate!” the man they had been running with yelled to the humans.

“Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth! Show me your teeth!” A guard order repeatedly, his gun pointing at them adding a threat.

“Show them your teeth,” the man put in.

Not needing to be told once again, the five gritted their teeth into a wide smile, unsure of the reasoning.

The guard, however, seemed satisfied. He lowered his gun and yelled to the others, “Human! Let ‘em in! Let ‘em in!”

The gate opened and the five of them ran inside.

“Close! Close! Close!” A guard yelled as soon as the group was past the threshold.

The humanoids, the Futurekind, were quickly approaching, but stopped as the gates clanged loudly shut. Thankfully on the other side, the Doctor, Martha, Kayla, Jack, and the man turned around to see a guard poking his gun through the holes in the gate. Not even blinking, the man fired at the ground in front of the Futurekind’s feet, leaving a clear message.

Once he was done, the chief stepped forwards and sniffed the air. His lips curled into a snarl. “Humans. Humani. Make feast.”

“Go back to where you came from. I said go back! Go back!” when the pack made no move to do as he ordered, the guard pointed his gun at the chief.

“Oh, don’t tell him to put down his gun,” Jack whispered to the Doctor, who had made no move to stop the guard.

The Doctor huffed. “He’s not my responsibility,” he informed Jack curtly.

Jack raised an eyebrow. “And I am?” He scoffed. “That makes a change.”

The chief looked at the gun pointed at his head and back up slowly. “Kind watch you. Kind hungry.” Signaling to the others behind him, the pack disappeared into the darkness.

The Doctor turned to the guard, who had walked back from the gate and had shouldered his gun. “Thank for that,” the Time Lord said.

The guard just nodded. “Right. Let’s get you inside.”

The man stepped forwards, making the guard look at him. “My name is Padrafet Shafekane. Please tell me, can you take me to Utopia?”

The guard broke a smile and clapped Padrafet on the shoulder. “Oh yes, sir. Yes, I can.”

With the guard leading and Padrafet following right behind, the foursome of time travelers walked into a large tunnel carved into the mountain side that led to the silo.

* * *

Inside, the guard was quickly called away, leaving the five to be shifted to the side repeatedly until a man came to them and introduced himself as Lt. Atillo. The Doctor and Padrafet ended up speaking over each other, much to the confusion of Lt. Atillo.

“It’s a box, a big blue box. I’m sorry, but I really need it back. It’s stuck out there,” the Doctor repeated.

“I’m sorry, but my family were heading for the silo. Did they get here? My mother is Kistane Shafekane. My brother is Beltone,” Padrafet said right afterwards.

Finally able to understand them, Lt. Atillo nodded at the requests. “The computers are down but you can check the paperwork,” he informed them. Leaning back, he called to his side, “Creet!” In immediate response, a young boy with blonde hair who couldn’t be older than ten stuck his head around the corner. Atillo nodded to him. “Passenger needs help.”

Walking around the corner, the boy stood there and looked up at the group with a clipboard in hand. “Right. What d’you need?” Padrafet walked over to Creet and looked over at the boy’s papers.

Having taken care of that, Lt. Atillo turned to the Doctor. “A blue box, you said.”

“Big, tall, wooden. Says ‘Police,’” the Doctor explained urgently.

“We’re driving out for a last water collection. I’ll see what I can do,” Atillo said with a shrug.

It wasn’t much, but it was a chance. So the Doctor replied with a sincere, “Thank you,” as Lt. Atillo left.

Creet looked up at Padrafet and said: “Come on,” with a motioning for a tunnel behind him.

As the two started to head out, and the foursome of travelers saw no reason to not join them, Martha called out to Creet: “Sorry, but how old are you?”

Creet looked back at her. “Old enough to work. This way.”

So they followed the young boy as he led them through a corridor lined with people camping in them. Every few seconds, Creet would yell out: “Kistane Shafekane. Kistane Shafekane. Kistane and Beltone Shafekane? Looking for a Kistane and Beltone Shafekane.”

“The Shafekanes anyone?” Padrafet added in.

“Anyone? Kistane and Beltone Shefkane? Anyone know the Shefkane family? Anyone called Shafekane?” Creet repeated.

“It’s like a refugee camp,” Martha said as they passed by a mother with her crying baby.

As they passed by a particularly bad smelling group, Jack wrinkled his noise and commented that it was “Stinking.” Something that a large man took notice to. He stepped forwards ever so slightly, making Jack give him a smile and say, “Ooh, sorry. No offence.”

The Doctor, however, just beamed at each person they passed. “Don’t you see that? The ripe old smell of humans. You survived. Oh, much better than a million years evolving into clouds of gas. And then another million as downloads, but you always revert to the same basic shape. The fundamental humans.”

“Kistane Shafekane,” Creet repeated in front.

The Doctor clapped a man on the shoulder. “End of the universe and here you are. Indomitable! That’s the word! Indomitable! Ha!”

“Is there a Kistane Shafekane?” Creet said.

And then a woman stood up with tears bubbling in her eyes. “That’s me,” she said. And then she gasped as she saw her son.

“Mother?” he breathed.

“Oh my god.”

As her son hugged Kistane, he looked up to see another man and Padrafet asked, “Beltone?”

Martha smiled at the family hugging each other. “It’s not all bad news.”

Jack, however, was eyeing a different man, who eyed him back. “Captain Jack Harkness.” He said while shaking the man’s hand. “And who are you?”

Rolling her eyes at her father’s familiar behavior, Kayla walked over to the Doctor, who was sonicing a door.

“It’s partially deadlocked,” he explained through gritted teeth.

Kayla sighed and looked at the keypad. “Jack’s vortex manipulator should be able to do something,” she suggested.

Nodding, the Doctor looked up and made a face at Jack’s blatant flirting. “Stop it. Give us a hand with this.”

Rolling his eyes, Jack left the man and wandered over to the Doctor with Martha meeting him with the Time Lord and Kayla.

“It’s partially deadlocked,” Kayla explained to her father. “Can you overwrite the code?”

Jack rolled his eyes at Kayla’s question. “Of _course_ I can.” Going to the keypad, he started to work on it while the Doctor continued to use the sonic screwdriver.

“Let’s find out where we are,” the Time Lord said with gritted teeth.

The door slid open suddenly, making the Doctor nearly topple over into the abbess on the other side.

_‘Doctor!’_ Kayla shouted instinctively through the mental bond. She was already lunging forwards and dragging him back before Jack had even reacted to the door opening. Both of the Time Lords were breathing hard once Kayla had let go of her grip on the Doctor and had slumped against the wall, exhausted.

_‘Thanks Kayla,’_ the Doctor said softly through the mental bond. Picking himself up, he peered out the door he had nearly fallen through and whistled at the sight of a large rocket that greeted him. Without really thinking about it, he sent the image to Kayla, allowing her to rest longer while Martha and Jack crowded to see the sight.

“Now _that_ is what I call a rocket,” Martha said with a shake of her head.

“They’re passengers, not refugees,” Kayla pointed out as she too headed to the door to take in just how big the rocket was. The Doctor’s image through the mental bond really did not do the size justice. And she was rather impressed.

“He said they were going to Utopia,” Martha reminded as the memory came to her suddenly.

The Doctor nodded. “The perfect place. 100 trillion years, it’s still the same old dream. Do you recognize those engines?”

Jack shook his head. “Nope. Whatever it is, it’s not rocket science. But it’s hot, though.”

“Boiling,” the Doctor agreed. Stepping back, Jack close the door, though the heat from the rocket stayed. “But if the universe is falling apart, what does Utopia mean?” the Doctor asked with a frown.

“Probably stars,” Kayla suggested.

Nodding at what Kayla had said, the Doctor frowned as an older man came running up to the group and took them in before turning to Jack. “The Doctor?”

Feeling Kayla’s amusement at the question, the Doctor stepped forwards to get the older man’s attention. “That’s me,” he corrected.

The older man looked at him and then started to nod with a smile on his face. He took the Doctor’s hand and started to lead him off. “Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.”

The Doctor looked behind him to see Kayla’s anxious face. “It’s good apparently,” he said with a shrug.

* * *

The room they were brought to was filled with papers, models, and wires. It was obviously a lab of some sort, and considering that some of the files had information on the rocket, it likely had to do with Utopia.

As soon as Martha, Jack, and Kayla entered after the Doctor, who was still being pulled by the older man, a young, female blue and green alien stepped forwards and gave them a smile. “Chan—welcome—tho,” she greeted.

Kayla looked around, vaguely hearing the older man speak rapidly to the Doctor while motioning to some equipment, “This is the gravitissimal accelerator. It’s part of the…”

And then the alien repeated, “Chan—welcome—tho.”

“And over here is the footprint impellor system. If you know anything about endtime gravity…” the older man continued to the Doctor.

Martha stepped forwards to the alien and gave her a kind smile. “Hello. Who are you?”

“Chan—Chantho—tho,” the alien, Chantho, replied.

Jack eyed her and flashed a wide smile that showed just a few too many teeth. “Captain Jack Harkness.”

Without even looking up from where the older man had led him, the Doctor called over to Jack: “Stop it.”

Jack rolled his eyes. “Can’t I say hello to anyone?” he protested.

Chantho blushed a deep green and gave Jack a shy smile. “Chan—I do not protest—tho.”

“Maybe later, Blue,” Jack said with a wink. Not being too bothered, Jack walked over to the Doctor and the older man, Kayla and Martha trailing after him. “So, what have we got here?”

“And all this feeds into the rocket?” the Doctor was asking the older man while motioning to something.

The older man nodded. “Yeah, except without a stable footprint we’ll never achieve escape velocity. If only we could harmonize the five impact patterns and unify them, well, we might yet make it. What do you think, Doctor? Any ideas?”

The Doctor looked helplessly over to Kayla, who shrugged and then over to Jack, who had tilted his head and was frowning at the item in front of him. Seeing no help coming from either of them, the Doctor sighed. “Well, um, basically…sort of…not a clue.”

“Nothing?” the older man asked.

The Doctor nodded. “I’m not from around these parts. I’ve never seen a system like it. Sorry.”

The older man slumped. “No, no. I’m sorry. It’s my fault. There’s been so little help,” he said in a dejected, defeated voice.

There was a sudden shriek behind the group, making Kayla and Jack turn to see Martha, who had been studying Jack’s bag, had pulled out a _hand_ and had dropped it on the table in complete shock and horror.

“Oh my God.” Martha gasped. She looked up at Jack, her mouth falling open to gape at him. “You’ve got a hand. A hand in a jar. A hand in a jar in your bag.”

The rest of the occupants moved forwards to look at the hand. Kayla tapped on the glass and took a quick step back when the hand started to bubble and _moved_ towards her ever so slightly.

“That’s—that’s my hand!” the Doctor cried out suddenly.

Jack shrugged. “I said I had a Doctor detector.”

Chantho frowned at the group. “Chan—is this a tradition amongst your people—tho?” she wondered.

Martha quickly shook her head. “Not on my street.” She turned to the Doctor and pointed at him. “What d’you mean that’s your hand? You’ve got both your hands, I can see them.”

The Doctor scratched at the back of his head. “Long story. I lost my hand Christmas Day. In a swordfight.” He looked over to Kayla with a small, half-smile. “Kayla was there.”

Kayla nodded as she remembered the fight between the newly regenerated and freshly woken up Time Lord, how she had been about to step in and do it herself when he had walked out of the TARDIS and had almost immediately snapped at Rose because she had been rude to her.

_‘That was our first Christmas together,’_ the Doctor said mentally, his voice tentative and soft.

Kayla gave him a small smile. _‘Bit of an odd first date.’_

Beaming at the fact that Kayla had even replied, let alone _smile_ at him, the Doctor turned to Martha just in time to hear her scoff: “What? And you grew another hand?”

The Doctor nodded. “Um yeah. Yeah I did. Yeah. Hello.” He waved the fingers of his regrown hand at Martha.

The older man, who had been watching the exchange with a puzzle expression, took a step forwards. “Might I ask what species are you?” he asked.

“I’m a Time Lord, so is Kayla.” At that little tidbit, Jack turned to gape at Kayla, who was suddenly very interested in her feet on the ground. The Doctor didn’t notice either reaction, as he was still speaking to the older man. “Heard of them?” A blank look was his response. “Legend or anything?” he asked, only to receive the same response. “Not even a myth? Blimey, end of the universe is a bit humbling.”

“Chan—It is said that I am the last of my species too—tho,” Chantho said softly.

The Doctor turned towards her. Before he could ask what her name was, Kayla quickly hissed to him mentally, _‘Her name is Chantho.’_

The older man gave Chantho a frown, causing the alien to shuffle a bit to the side. “My assistant and good friend, Chantho. A survivor of the Malmooth. This was their planet, Malcassairo, before we took refuge.”

The Doctor looked over at Chantho. “The city outside, that was yours?”

Chantho nodded. “Chan—the conglomeration died—tho.”

The Doctor beamed and sent Kayla, Martha, and Jack a victorious look. “Conglomeration! That’s what I said!”

“You’re supposed to say sorry,” Jack corrected the Doctor.

The Doctor frowned and looked over at Kayla, who shook her head. His eyes widening, the Doctor turned quickly to Chantho. “Oh, yes. Sorry.”

Chantho just nodded. “Chan—most grateful—tho.”

Martha, however, was still stuck on the hand bit from earlier. “You grew another hand?” she repeated, staring from the jar to his hand to back to the jar.

The Doctor waved the fingers of his hand once again. “Hello again,” he greeted.

_‘Calm her down,’_ Kayla instructed.

Frowning, the Doctor took a hesitant step forwards towards Martha. “It’s fine. Look. Really, it’s me.” He held out his hands and wiggled both sets of fingers, showing Martha that everything was in order. Hesitantly, he gave Martha’s hand a shake.

Martha laughed nervously. “All this time and you’re still full of surprises.”

Giving a click of his tongue, the Doctor winked at Martha.

“Chan--you are most unusual—tho.”

The Doctor just shrugged. “Well…” he said, letting his voice trailing off.

Jack turned to the older man. “So what about those things outside? The Beastie Boys. What are they?” he asked.

“We call them the Futurekind. Which is a myth in itself, but, uh, it is feared they are what we will become. Unless we reach Utopia,” the older man explained.

“What’s Utopia?” Kayla asked him with a small frown.

The older man looked at her in complete confusion. “Oh, every human knows of Utopia. Where have you been?”

“We’re hermits,” the Doctor cut in smoothly.

The older man frowned at them. “A hermit with friends?” he challenged.

The Doctor just nodded. “Hermits United. We meet up every ten years. Swap stories about caves. It’s good fun…for a hermit. So, um, Utopia?”

Crooking his finger, the older man led them to a computer. On its screen was a navigational chart that had a blinking red dot. “The call came from across the stars over and over again. Come to Utopia. Originated from that point,” he explained.

The Doctor frowned at the screen. “Where is that?”

“Oh, it’s far beyond the Condensate Wilderness. Out towards the wildlands and the dark matter reefs. Calling us in. The last of the humans. Scattered across the night,” the older man answered.

“What’s out there, though?” Kayla wondered.

The older man shrugged. “I don’t know. A colony, a city, some sort of haven? The Science Foundation created the Utopia Project thousands of years ago to preserve mankind—to find a way of surviving beyond the collapse of reality itself. Now perhaps they found it. Perhaps not. But it’s worth a look, don’t you think?”

The Doctor smiled. “Oh yes,” he agreed. “And the signal keeps modulating, so it’s not automatic. There’s a good sign. Someone’s out there. And that’s…ooh, that’s a navigation matrix, isn’t it? So you can fly without stars to guide you.”

_‘Doctor, there’s something wrong with him,’_ Kayla said suddenly. Her eyes were on the older man, who was staring straight ahead, a frown on his face and his hand on his temple.

Turning, his smile gone, the Doctor stepped over to the man and tapped him on the arm. “Professor? Professor?”

Jerking out of whatever space he was in, the man looked over at the Doctor in confusion. “I—Right, that’s enough talk,” he sighed and turned away. “There’s work to do. Now if you could leave. Thank you.” And then the man walked away, effectively dismissing the group.

The Doctor frowned and walked after him. “You all right?” he questioned.

“Yes. I’m fine! And busy!” the man snapped.

“Except that rocket isn’t going to fly,” Kayla cut in. “I might not know much about this technology, but this footprint isn’t working.”

The older man turned to face her. “We’ll find a way!” he promised.

“You’re stuck on this planet. And you haven’t told them, have you? That lot out there, hey still think they’re gonna fly,” the Doctor pointed out.

The older man sighed and slumped a bit. “Well, it’s better to let them live in hope.”

“That’s true,” Kayla agreed as the Doctor passed his coat to Jack, who threw it over onto a seat.

“And I must say, Professor…” the Doctor frowned as he tried and failed to search for a name for the man. “Um, what was it?”

“Yana,” the man responded.

The Doctor nodded. “Professor Yana. This new science is well beyond me, but all the same, a boost reversal circuit, in any time frame, must be a circuit which reverses the boost. So, I wonder, what would happen if I did this?” Picking up the circuit he had been referring to, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver on it and then nodded to Kayla, who switched it on. Instantly, it lit up, the soniced circuit working as intended.

Chantho and Yana stared at the circuit in complete shock. “Chan—it’s working—tho!” the alien gasped.

“But how did you do that?” Yana asked the Doctor, shaking his head in wonder at the idea of the circuit actually working.

“As he’s been chatting away,” Kayla explained, “he forgot to tell you something important: he’s brilliant.”


	31. Utopia Pt. 2

It took about an hour for Professor Yana to be completely convinced that the rocket would actually fly. He made the Doctor explain what he had done over, and over again until he finally nodded and sent a message to Lt. Atillo. The other man had been shocked at the report from Yana that the rocket “is ready” and that “we can finally send people to Utopia.”

Lt. Atillo, in fact, hadn’t believed Yana at first. But the older man had pressed until, finally, Lt. Atillo also agreed that the rocket was ready. Once he had agreed, Lt. Atillo had the honor of giving the first boarding message.

Even from inside the lab, which was far away from the families who lived in the silo, the group could hear the people cheering at the message, at the news that they were finally heading to Utopia.

_“All passengers prepare for immediate boarding. I repeat, all passengers prepare for immediate boarding.”_

But there was also work to be done. And the group quickly found themselves working with Professor Yana on different machines, all spread out through the room.

“We need circuit boards,” the Doctor said as he eyed something with a frown. Turning to Martha and Chantho, he quickly ordered them to go and grab them. Chantho had stared at him blankly, clearly not knowing a circuit board _was,_ but Martha just nodded and took the female alien with her.

Unable to work on what he had been working on, the Doctor headed over to Yana and started to work on the opposite side of a clear, oddly colored circuit board.

As he picked up a cord, he frowned and brought it up to his nose to sniff. “Is this..?”

Yana nodded, his face reddening as he explained: “Yes, gluten extract. Binds the neutralino map together.”

The Doctor stared at Professor Yana, his mouth hanging open. From where she was, Kayla couldn’t help but giggle at his shocked expression. It was often for the Doctor to be impressed by someone, or to be speechless.

But he quickly found his words to practically blurt out: “But that’s food. You’ve built this system out of food and string and staples. Professor Yana, you’re a genius.”

Yana just scoffed and shook his head. “Says the man who made it work,” he protested.

“Ooh…it’s easy coming in at the end but…you’re stellar. This is…this is magnificent. I don’t often say that ‘cause…well, ‘cause of me.” The Doctor paused after he was done speaking and then added, “Or Kayla. She’s just amazing. Truly stellar as well.” He smiled as he felt a warm surge of happiness from Kayla at the compliment.

Yana nodded. If he wasn’t so busy working, he probably would have turned to look over at the brunette, who was also working. But he would have to let his curiosity remain. “Well, even my title is an affectation. There hasn’t been such a thing as a university for over a thousand years. I’ve spent my life going from one refugee ship to another,” he explained.

Those had been very hard times. Alone and a child, he was often put to work at the refugee ships to get the same food that other children got simply because they had parents. Sometimes he would be made fun of, or bullied. And since there were no adults to stick up for him and he was very scrawny as a child, he had been forced to suffer in silence. It wasn’t until he hit a growth spurt did the treatment stop.

So lost in the less than pleasant memories, it took a bit for the Doctor’s words to pull him out. But he heard enough of his proclaim that, had he been born in a different time then he would have been revered throughout the galaxies for him to shake his head. “Oh, those damned galaxies. They had to go and collapse. Some admiration would have been nice. Just a little. Just once.” He added at the end, a small smile at the idea of a different childhood where his brain was known and he wasn’t picked on by the others.

Perhaps he would have been a master of knowledge.

From across the circuit, the Doctor gave Yana a smile. “Well you’ve got it now.” And then his smile faded as he voiced what he had realized as soon as he had taken a look at the footprint. “But that footprint engine thing. You can’t activate it from onboard. It’s gotta be from here. You’re staying behind.”

Yana gave the Doctor a weary smile and a simple nod. “With Chantho. She won’t leave without me. Simply refuses.”

“You would give your life so they could fly.”

“Oh, I think I’m a little too old for Utopia. Time I had some sleep.”

_‘Doctor…’_ Kayla’s voice came hesitantly, making the Time Lord pause. _‘We need to save this man. And Chantho.’_

_‘Of course,’_ the Doctor agreed instantly. _‘He’ll love the TARDIS.’_

As if his thought was a cue, over the tannoy, Lt. Atillo’s voice rang out. _“Professor, tell the Doctor we’ve found his blue box.”_

The Doctor clapped his hands together and gave a shout of: “Ah!”

“Doctor,” Jack called. The Time Lord, now excited, bounded over to where Jack was standing to look at the monitor, which showered his TARDIS, in all its glory, safely placed nearby.

Professor Yana, who had walked over at a much slower pace, looked over the Doctor’s shoulder with Kayla just next to them. Turning to the older man, Kayla gave him a smile. “Professor, I believe the universe has decided that your sleep should wait.”

Leaving the older man to stare at the monitor, Kayla went to the TARDIS and started to help the Doctor. Usually, this would have been done while they talked mentally, and if they were in the same room then the Doctor would often give her small little kisses. But this was not the cause. And though Kayla longed for how it used to be, she didn’t waver in her decision.

She was still very hurt from the realization that her father and her Bonded had lied to her. It felt like a betrayal of the worse kind. She so badly wanted to scream at both of them, pour out all her feeling in one long rant about what they had done. But that wouldn’t accomplish anything. She wanted to, after this was all said and done, have a relationship with both of them.

Because she could understand their choice. The Doctor had made it no secret that he could be more than a little overprotective of her, and with the pregnancy it was more so. And as for Jack, he had only the information that the Doctor was giving him. If the only thing Jack had been told was that his presence could cause her pain, then he would likely stay away.

But, Kayla mused, they hadn’t consulted with her. She had had no choice in the matter and that hurt. _She_ should have been the one to choose whether or not she could stand to be around Jack, despite the pain. Even the Doctor’s explanation about why he wiped her memories didn’t hold up because he could have just forced her to sleep through the mental link. Sure, she would have been furious with him, but that wouldn’t have lasted once she realized the damage she was causing to her own body.

Yet Kayla still had heavy hearts when she and the Doctor had finished pulling out a long power line. She could feel through the mental link the Doctor sadness and guilt, which made it even harder for her to not turn and give the Doctor a hug and a kiss.

Instead, she stood near the TARDIS as the Doctor inserted the power line into an outlet. “Extra power,” he explained. “Little bit of a cheat, but who’s counting?” he turned to Jack, who gave him a small nod to show that he was listening to the Time Lord. “Jack, you’re in charge of the retro-feeds.”

The door opened as Martha and Chantho came back. Upon seeing the TARDIS, Martha smiled. “Oh, am I glad to see that thing,” she remarked to Kayla, who gave her a smile in response.

While Kayla had never doubted that the TARDIS would be found, it was still nice to know that they wouldn’t have to rely on Jack’s Vortex Manipulator. The idea itself was already making her stomach clench almost painfully.

Chantho walked over to Professor Yana, who was sitting on the couch. Kayla watched as she asked: “Chan—Professor, are you all right—tho?”

Yana nodded and clambered to his feet, a slight tinge of red on his cheeks. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m fine,” he brushed off with a wave of his hand, though his voice was weaker than normal. “I’m fine. Just get on with it,” he said, this time with a stronger voice.

Nearby to Kayla, Jack was instructed Martha. “Connect those circuits into the spar—same as that last lot. But quicker.”

Kayla could see Martha’s eyes widened at the commanding tone Jack had taken on. And she couldn’t help but nearly laugh when Martha response with, “Yes, sir.”

Seeing Yana start to head over to something only to fall back onto the seat he had occupied earlier, Kayla walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. She was aware of the Doctor hovering nearby, likely listening in on the conversation. “You really don’t have to keep working,” she said as kindly as she could. “We can handle it, really.”

Yana placed a hand on his head. “It’s just a headache. Just—Just noise inside my head. Constant noise inside my head.”

The Doctor took a quick step forwards. “What sort of noise?” he asked.

“It’s the sound of drums. More and more as though it’s getting closer.”

Kayla frowned at the older man. The Professor didn’t seem like the type to use metaphorical langue to describe his head throbbing as “drums,” but who had ever heard of a drumming noise in someone’s head?

“When did it start?” the Doctor asked, his face etched with concern and a want to help.

Yana faltered for a moment and then gave the Doctor a tired smile. “Oh, I’ve had it all my life. Every waking hour. Still, no rest for the wicked.” With that final sigh, Professor Yana stood back off and headed over to resume his work.

Exchanging concerned looks, Kayla followed the Doctor back to where he was working.

_‘I’ve never heard someone describe a headache as drums,’_ Kayla pointed out.

The Doctor frowned and tilted his head. Through the link, Kayla saw small flashes of images that he was thinking of – two boys running through red grass, the now older two boys standing inside a TARDIS, and finally the still older two boys staring each other down.

_‘I’m sure he was just being metaphorical,’_ the Doctor replied, the images fading.

Kayla hummed, not really agreeing but not wanting to outright disagree. At this response, the Doctor frowned. _‘I hate it when you do that,’_ he admitted.

Kayla sent the Doctor a glare. _‘And I hate giving definite answers when I haven’t formed an opinion,’_ she snapped back.

The Doctor recoiled. For a long pause, the two worked in an uncomfortable silence that the Time Lord finally broke with a soft, hesitant whisper: _‘It killed me, lying to you.’_

Kayla looked over at him and then quickly looked back down at her work, trying very hard to not let him see the effect those words had on her.

_‘I wanted to just tell you so many times. But then I remembered how close I was to loosing you the last time and I was selfish. You would get this expression sometimes, when you were talking about him. I thought you had remembered and most of me was scared at that, but a small part was very happy at the idea.’_

Swallowing hard, it took a while for Kayla to gather her thoughts enough to respond in any sort of way. _‘Would you have told me if Jack hadn’t shown up?’_

The Doctor looked down at the work in his hands. _‘I don’t know Kayla.’_ He looked up at her with a frown. _‘I know that’s not the answer you wanted. But it’s an honest answer. I’d like to think I would, but I really don’t know.’_

The rest of their work, until Professor Yana called over to them for help because the connection to Lt. Atillo wasn’t working, was finished in both vocal and mental silence.

When Professor Yana did call over to the two, the Doctor was the one who went over to help while Kayla remained with the work. She could vaguely hear the Doctor muttering to himself before he fixed the connection. Pausing to look up, she watched as the older man peered into the computer just as Lt. Atillo’s voice came through it:

_“Professor, are you getting me?”_

Yana nodded vigorously. “I’m here! We’re ready! Now all you need to do is connect the couplings. Then we can launch,” he growled as the connection cut out and static filled the screen. “God sakes! This equipment! Needs rebooting all the time!”

Martha quickly headed over to the Professor and gave him a smile. “Anything I can do? I’ve finished that lot.” She asked with a gesture to where she had been working.

Kayla also got up as well. “The Doctor and I have finished too,” she informed Yana, who gave her a pat on the shoulder, a nod, and a muttered reply of ‘good.’

Turning to Martha, Yana got up from his seat and motioned for Martha to sit down in it. “Just press the reboot key every time the picture goes out,” he instructed.

Martha nodded. “Certainly, sir. Just don’t ask me to do shorthand,” she added with a small smile. When Kayla looked over at her with a frown, Martha hastily explained: “Chantho told me some of her stories.”

The image of Lt. Atillo came back to the screen and the man asked them: _“Are you still there?”_

Yana leaned forwards behind Martha so that the other man could see him. “Ah, present and correct. Send your man inside. We’ll keep the levels down from here.”

There was a pause and then Lt. Atillo nodded, clearly reciving information from somewhere else. _“He’s inside. And good luck to him.”_

Yana turned to Jack and instructed him to another machine. “Captain, keep the levels below the red.” He ordered. Jack gave a nod.

The Doctor frowned at Yana and the machine Jack was at. “Where is that room?”

“It’s underneath the rocket. Fix the couplings and the footprint can work. But the entire chamber is flooded with stet radiation,” Yana answered, shuddering at the end.

The Doctor looked over at Kayla who shook her head. Which just made the frown on the Doctor’s face to deepen. “Stet? We’ve never heard of it,” he asked with a gesture to himself and Kayla.

Yana did not seem shocked with their lack of knowledge. “You wouldn’t want to. But it’s safe enough. We can hold the radiation back from here.”

On the monitor that Martha sat in front of, Kayla, the Doctor, Professor Yana, and Martha watched as an unknown man work on the couplings. There was a sudden alarm that started to sound, making the Professor turn to Jack. “It’s rising…0.2. Keep it level!”

“Yes, sir!”

Just as the alarm turned off, more and more alarms started to go off. The lights in the lab dimmed sharply.

“Chan—we’re losing power—tho!” Chantho warned.

Utter chaos broke as the Doctor, Jack, and the Professor all cried out warnings in panicked voices similar to the one that Chantho had used moments ago.

But thankfully, the Doctor ended the calls by yelling to Jack: “Jack! Override the vents!”

That however, turned out to be a task that would take several hours to complete due to their depleted power. So Jack improvised. Despite Kayla objecting strongly to the plan she _knew_ he had thought of, Jack grabbed two live cables and sent, of all things, a _smile_ to the Doctor. “We can jump start the override!”

“It’s going to flare, you idiot!” Kayla yelled back at her father even as he held the cables together.

It flared. Kayla could only watch helplessly as Jack screamed as the power ran through them before crumpling to the floor. Through a thick fog, she felt the Doctor’s arms wrap around her and she allowed herself to relax into the familiar and warm cocoon they created. She rested against him even Professor Yana and Chantho rushed towards the fallen figure that was Jack.

* * *

Martha, however, looked between the Doctor and Kayla and then to Jack. “He comes back, right?” she asked in a low voice.

The Doctor gave her a nod, which solidified Martha’s decision to stay back as Chantho moved the cables and Yana looked down at the man.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” he said helplessly, though Kayla was unsure if he was saying his apology to Jack or to the room at large.

Behind Kayla, the brunette felt the Doctor’s chest vibrate as he asked Yana, “The chamber’s flooded with radiation, yes?”

Yana looked over at the Doctor and shook his head. “Without the couplings, the engines will never start. It was all for nothing!”

“Oh, I don’t know,” the Doctor muttered there was a pause as the Doctor seemed to weigh the options he had.

_‘Kayla…you know what I’m about to suggest already, don’t you?’_

_‘Of course.’_

_‘Are you okay with it?’_

Kayla gave a small nod, which was enough for the Doctor to give his suggestion to Professor Yana.

“It strikes me, Professor, you’ve got a room a man can’t enter without dying. Is that correct?”

“Yes,” Yana agreed with a shake of his head at the mere thought.

“Well…” the Doctor cut himself off as Jack gasped for air on the floor and sat up. Looking down at Jack for a moment, the Doctor looked back at Yana and removed his glasses. “I’ve got just the man.”

* * *

Jack agreed readily to the plan that the Doctor had, something that surprised even the Time Lord. But the look that Jack gave him, one full of determination, made the Doctor except Jack’s agreement wordlessly.

The two raced through the silo to get to the chamber. The Doctor had looked to Kayla and Martha to see if either had wanted to come, but both declined.

So as Jack and the Doctor made it to the chamber, Martha was glaring at the computer while repeatedly booting it up.

“It’s not working,” she grumbled, frustrated. “I can’t get an image.”

Kayla placed a hand on her shoulder. “As long as we can talk to them, I’m sure it will be fine.”

Hitting the reboot button once more, though nothing happened, Martha spoke to the computer. “We lost picture when that thing flared up. Doctor, are you there?”

_“Receiving, yeah. He’s inside,”_ the Doctor familiar voice responded.

“Is he alright?” Kayla asked, leaning forwards in a vain hope that that would speed up the answer.

_“Oh yes. No harm at all. Not a scratch or a burn.”_

Yana stared at the computer in shock. “But he should evaporate. What sort of a man is he?”

“He’s my father,” Kayla replied simply.

Seeing that that answer wasn’t enough, Martha jumped in with more of an explanation: “The Doctor and Kayla sort of travels through time and space and picks people up. God, I make us sound like stray dogs. Maybe we are.”

Kayla frowned over at her. “You’re not stray dogs,” she protested. “Without you the Doctor and I would be completely lost.”

Martha gave her a small smile, “That’s sweet Kayla.”

Seeing a pause in their conversation, Yana quickly interjected with a question. “You travel in time?” her asked.

Kayla turned to face him. “Yes. We travel in the TARDIS, it’s that blue box over there.”

There was a crackle of static from the computer and then the Doctor’s voice came through it. _“When did you first realize?”_

There was a pause and then _Jack’s_ voice came in a response to the Doctor’s question. _“Earth 1892. Got in a fight in Ellis Island. A man shot me through the heart. Then I woke up. Thought it was kinda strange. But then it never stopped. Fell off a cliff, trampled by horses, World War I, World War II, poison, strangulation, a stray javelin…”_ his voice trailed off meaningfully. _“In the end, I got the message, I’m the man who can never die. And all that time you knew.”_

Martha looked quickly over to Kayla, but the brunette’s face was a perfect mask that displayed no emotion. Swallowing at the sight, Martha placed a small hand on Kayla’s, and while Martha’s hand was squeezed in response, Kayla’s face remained the same as she listened to the conversation between her Bonded and her father.

_“That’s why I left you behind. It’s not easy even just…just looking at you Jack, ‘cause you’re wrong. I didn’t want to expose Kayla to that as well. I did tell her about you. She obsessed over it. She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t sleep, she wouldn’t move from the console room. I regret what I did, truly, but left with the option of watching my Bonded kill herself slowly, I’d do it again.”_

There was a long pause that felt like years to Kayla before Jack responded. _“She really loves you, you know?”_

_“Yeah.”_

_“I don’t know if she’ll get over this, though. You lied to her, Doctor.”_

_“You agreed to it when I suggested it.”_

_“Of course I did. You told me I might cause pain to my daughter.”_

_“And whenever she looks at you, whenever she touches you, that’s exactly what you’re doing. We’re Time Lords. It’s instinct. It’s in our guts. You’re a fixed point in time a space. You’re a fact. That’s never meant to happen. Even the TARDIS reacted against you—tried to shake you off. Flew all the way to the end of the universe just to get rid of you.”_

_“How did she become a Time Lord-“_

_“Lady. Time Lady,”_ the Doctor corrected suddenly.

_“Time Lady, then. Last thing I remember back when Kayla and I were mortals…I was facing three Daleks. Death by extermination. And then I came back to life. What happened?”_

_“Kayla – and Rose, I suppose.”_

_“I thought you sent them back home.”_

_“They came back. Rose opened the heart of the TARDIS and started to absorb the time vortex when Kayla took it from her_.”

_“What does that mean, exactly?”_

_“No one’s ever mean to have that power. If a Time Lord did that, he’d become a god, a vengeful god. But she was human Everything she did was so human. She brought you back to life but she couldn’t control it. She brought you back forever. That’s something, I suppose. The final act of the Time War was life.”_

_“That doesn’t answer how Kayla became a Time Lady,”_ Jack pointed out.

_“Kayla and I ended up forming a mental bond. I didn’t notice it until it was too late and I hoped that the stories about what happened when a Time Lord and a different species formed a mental link were just that, stories. I was wrong.”_

_“And Rose? What happened between the three of you?”_

_“Like I said, she’s in a parallel universe with all her loved ones.”_ Before Jack could press him on the subject, the Doctor quickly asked: _“Do you wanna die?”_

There was no answer from Jack. _“Oh, this one’s a little stuck,”_ he said in reference to one of the couplings.

_“Jack?”_ the Doctor pressed.

_“I thought I did. I dunno. But this lot, you see them out here surviving and that’s fantastic,”_ Jack breathed at the end.

Kayla felt a tear slide down her cheek, and she reached up with a hand to wipe it away. She had been quietly sitting there, listening, as her hearts broke into a million pieces and then was smashed on by what the Doctor and Jack were saying to each other.

_“You may be out there somewhere,”_ the Doctor suggested suddenly.

_“I could go meet myself.”_

_“Well, the only man you’re ever gonna be happy with,”_ the Doctor pointed out. And Kayla laughed and cracked a small, though watery, smile.

_“This new regeneration, it’s kinda cheeky.”_

“I never understand half the things he says,” Martha said with a shake of her head. Turning around, she paused at the sight of Professor Yana, who appeared to be so, so sad. “What’s wrong?” she asked him, prompting Kayla to turn around and Chantho to rush over to him.

“Chan—Professor, what is it—tho?”

Yana sighed and shook his head, looking every bit of the old man he was. “Time travel. They say there was time travel back in the old days. I never believed. But what would I know? I’m just a stupid old man. Never could keep time. Always late, always lost. Even this thing never worked,” he grumbled as he pulled out an old and battered fob watch with a group of interlocking circles on the cover. Despite the dirt on it, the silver still shined in the light.

“Time and time and time again. Always running out on me,” Yana said with a small shake of the watch.

But Martha and Kayla weren’t paying attention to him. The two were exchanging worried expressions. Both of their minds had instantly jumped to the same fob watches that the Doctor and Kayla had when they turned themselves human.

“Can I have a look at that?” Martha asked as she got up from her seat. 

Yana looked down at the watch and that at confusion. “Oh, it’s only an old relic,” he chuckled to himself. “Like me.”

Kayla frowned at him as she also got to her feet. “Do you know where you got it?” she asked him hesitantly.

“Hm? I was found with it.”

“What do you mean?” Kayla pressed, her mind already whirling.

“An orphan in the storm. I was a naked child found on the coast of the Silver Devastation. Abandoned with only this,” Yana explained, a far away look in his eyes as he delved into his memories.

“Have you opened it,” Martha asked him.

Yana frowned, his brow furrowing. “Why would I? It’s broken,” he pointed out.

“How do you know it’s broken if you never opened it?” Martha asked even as Kayla hissed her name to her sharply. Though the brunette didn’t remember much about her time as human, she knew that if someone had peaked her interest about her fob watch the way that Martha was, she would have opened it.

Not noticing Kayla’s hiss, Yana just looked down at the fob watch in his hands. “It’s stuck. It’s old. It’s not meant to be. I don’t know.”

Stepping forwards, Kayla took the fob watch out of Yana’s hands and looked down at it. Her hearts skipped several beats as she saw the circles on the front were near a perfect match to the ones that were on the Doctor’s and Kayla’s watches. Not able to look at it any more, Kayla handed it back to the old man.

“Does it matter?” Yana asked the two women, a frown on his face.

Martha exchanged a horrified look with Kayla. “No. It’s…nothing. It’s…Listen, everything’s fine up here. We’re gonna see if the Doctor needs us.”

Turning away quickly, Kayla and Martha hurried out of the lab. Once they exited the threshold, the two broke into a run. Too panicked to gather her thoughts, Kayla knew that it was useless to try and contact the Doctor mentally.

She had no idea how to explain it, but when she had looked down at the fob watch, she had felt a horrible sense of foreboding, and a shiver at run up her spine. It felt like someone had stepped over her grave many years in the future.

And that feeling made her legs pump faster. Everything in her was telling her to get to her Bonded, to get to the Doctor.

* * *

When the two women arrived in the control room, the Doctor looked up at them worried. But after a quick assessment of Kayla, he went back to his work. “Ah, nearly there. The footprint is a gravity pulse. It stamps down, the rocket shoots up. Bit primitive. It’s gonna take the both of us to keep it stable,” he explained.

Kayla moved in front of the Doctor, blocking him from his work. “Doctor, it’s Yana. He has a fob watch Doctor and it’s practically identical to the ones we had.”

The Doctor frowned at Kayla. “Are you sure?” he asked her.

“I asked him. He said he’s had it all his life,” Martha added in.

Jack stared at the trio with a frown. “So he’s got the same watch.”

“Yeah, but it’s not a watch. It’s this chameleon thing,” Martha explained.

The Doctor shook his head furiously. “No, no, no. It’s this…This thing, this device, it rewrites biology, changes a Time Lord into a human.”

“A chameleon arch,” Kayla supplied, causing the Doctor to give her a grateful nod. “It’s the same watch, Doctor. I swear.”

“It can’t be,” the Doctor protested.

Like before, Kayla saw the images that flashed through the Doctor’s mind. But this time they were all the same image of one gruesome war.

An alarmed blared, giving the Doctor a distraction that he sorely needed. He quickly started to fix it.

“That means he could be a Time Lord. You and Kayla might not be the last ones.”

“Jack, keep it level!” the Doctor yelled back at him, his breathing hard.

Martha frowned at the panicked reaction the Doctor was having and the worried expression on Kayla’s face. “But that’s brilliant, isn’t it?” she pointed out.

“Yes, it is. Course it is. Depends which one. Brilliant, fantastic, yeah. But they died, the Time Lords. All of them, they died,” the Doctor shook his head as more images flashed through the mental link, all of them the same war.

“Not if he was human,” Jack pointed out.

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. “What did he say?” When there was no answer to his question, he repeated it again at a yell, “What did he say?”

Martha inhaled sharply at the Doctor’s reaction. “He looked at the watch like he could hardly see it. Like that perception filter thing.”

“What about now? Can he see it now?”

It was Kayla who answered this time. “He might. He will soon.”

The Doctor ran a another, frantic hand through his hair while Jack pointed out behind him, “If he escaped the Time War then it’s the perfect place to hide. The end of the universe.”

“Think of what the Face of Boe said. His dying words. He said…” Martha’s voice trailed off as the Doctor launched the rocket from the controls.

And then both Kayla and the Doctor made eye contact, their eyes widening as they both sensed something knew…something that Kayla could tell from the Doctor’s thoughts that he had felt before.

With shaking hands, the Doctor turned to the computer screen and typed ‘Y,’ ‘A,’ ‘N,’ ‘A.’

“You are not alone,” Kayla whispered, watching the letters flash on the screen. “How could he have known?”

Shaking his hands, the Doctor grabbed a phone off of the controls and yelled harshly into it, “Lieutenant, have you achieved velocity? Have you done it? Lieutenant! Have you done it?”

There was a pause, and then Lt. Atillo responded: _“Affirmative. We’ll see you in Utopia.”_

Not correcting him, the Doctor chose to just nod. “Good luck,” he said as he hung up.

Turning to the group, he grabbed Kayla’s hand and pulled her with him at a run. Jack and Martha followed behind the couple.

* * *

They were too late though. The door that Kayla and Martha had run through only minutes before was closed. Frustrated, the Doctor all but shoved the sonic screwdriver to the door while Jack started to work on the keypad.

“Get it open! Get it open!” the Doctor yelled repeatedly, his voice cracking with fear. He turned around, his eyes widening as he heard the Futurekind, which had someone gotten into the Silo, rush down the hall towards them.

Pushing Kayla in front of him, he urged Jack again, and thankfully, the man was able to open the door and they rushed through.

But they still had so long to go, too long. Though they ran as quickly as they could, the Futurekind were soon close behind them.

At an intersection, Jack looked around before pointing down a hall, “This way!” he yelled to the others, already running down it himself.

He was right, of course. And the group arrived at the lab door only to find it closed and locked as well. As Jack started to work on the keypad, the Doctor peered into the window at the top of the door. “Professor!” he yelled while pounding on the glass. “Professor, let me in! Let me in! Jack, get the door open!”

Clearly, the Professor walked away, because the Doctor growled in frustration before he attempted again. “Professor! Professor, where are you?! Professor! Professor, are you there?! Please, I need to explain! Whatever you do, don’t open that watch!”

“They’re coming!” Martha warned, looking behind at the corridor. Even she could hear the frantic footsteps and the wild woops from the Futurekind.

“Professor!” the Doctor all but screamed, his voice cracking. “Open the door, please! I’m begging you, Professor! Please! Listen to me! Open the door, please!”

Several things happened in short succession. There was a gun shot, Jack opened the door, and the group – the Doctor and Kayla at the front – rushed inside to face down the older man, who was pressing against the TARDIS with blood already staining his shirt. The Doctor took a step forwards, but the man rushed inside the TARDIS and locked it.

Running to his TARDIS, the Doctor tried the key, only for it to not work. Staring down at the metal object, the Doctor stepped backwards before he nodded jerkily and got his sonic screwdriver out. He turned it on, only for nothing to happen.

And then the Professor’s voice came out, as if he was standing right next to them. _“Deadlocked.”_

Going back to the doors, the Doctor pounded on them. “Let me in! Let me in!” he pleaded.

“She’s dead,” Martha said suddenly, and nearby Jack yelled, “I’ve broken the lock! Give me a hand!”

But that didn’t matter to the Doctor, nor did it matter to Kayla. Instead, the two stayed by the TARDIS. “I’m begging you! Everything’s changed! It’s only us! We’re the only ones left!”

“Just let us in!” Kayla cried out.

There was only silence, and then a tell-tale golden lights filled the windows of the door and the man screamed. The Professor was regenerating. Kayla and the Doctor exchanged horrified looks, but neither of them moved even as Jack warned by the door that the Futurekind were there.

_“Doctor, and Kayla—ooh, new voice.”_ The male voice, which was new, came over the speaker. _“Hello,”_ he said, dropping the voice lower. _“hello,”_ he repeated, higher this time. _“hello,”_ he finally finished, his voice back to his normal pitch. _“Anyway, why don’t we stop and have a nice little chat while I tell you all my plans and you can work out a way to stop me? I don’t think!”_

Martha’s voice, hoarse, suddenly cried out, “Hold on! I know that voice!”

“I’m asking you really properly! Just stop! Just think!” the Doctor begged.

The man said only three words in response: _“Use my name,”_ he prompted.

The Doctor looked down and then briefly at Kayla. He had had a feeling who the man actually was, and he had hidden it from her because of the fear that it would bring. But now he had no choice. “Master. I’m sorry,” he said even as Kayla made a gasping noise and clutched his arm in a vice grip.

_“Tough!”_ the Master laughed in response.

As the controls started, the Doctor held out his screwdriver and whirled it on. Something evidently happened in the TARDIS, because the Master’s voice came back over the speakers: _“Oh, no you don’t!  End of the universe. Have fun. Bye bye!”_

And as Jack and Martha fought to keep the door from letting the Futurekind come in, the Doctor and Kayla could only watch as the TARIDS was piloted away by the Master.


	32. Sound of Drums Pt. 1

Kayla, the Doctor, Jack, and Martha appeared in what used to be a quiet alleyway in modern day London. As their feat hit the ground, Martha groaned loudly.

“Oh, my head!” Martha complained while rubbing at her forehead in an attempt to diffuse the pounding headache.

The Doctor, in agreement, gave a rub to his own forehead. “Time travel without a capsule.  That’s a killer.”

Shrugging, Jack cracked his neck and looked over at Kayla, who was stretching her arms out. The two were used to traveling via vortex manipulator and had, overtime, stopped getting some of the more annoying side effects – like getting a pounding headache.

“You’ll feel better if you start walking around,” Kayla suggested, her eyes flickering to the Doctor before landing on the safe target of Martha Jones.

The Time Lady was still very angry with her husband and, she realized, with her father as well. Both men had lied about Jack being alive, having instead let her believe him dead and even _morn_ him. She felt betrayed, but with the Master, a man the Doctor rarely allowed himself to talk about, coming back and vowing vengeance, Kayla had had little time to sort out her own feelings with the Doctor and Jack. It just had to wait until the Master was taken care of.

A small tap on her shoulder jerked her out of her thoughts. She jumped and looked over to see Martha frowning at her. “You okay?” she asked hesitantly.

Kayla sighed. “I’ll be fine in a bit,” she promised.

Ahead, near the mouth of the alley, Jack had turned to the Doctor with a smirk. “Still, at least we made it.  Earth, 21st century by the looks of it.  Ha, ha, talk about lucky.”

Despite not seeing his face, Kayla was positive that the Doctor rolled his eyes. “That wasn’t luck, that was me,” he corrected.

Kayla had to agree with that. At the end of the universe, the Doctor had used his sonic screwdriver on Jack’s vortex manipulator despite the man’s protests that it hadn’t worked in years. The memory made her frown. She would have to remember to offer to look at it. She had always been good at quickly repairing them.

* * *

Slowly, for Martha and the Doctor will still feeling the effects of their violent travel, the group made their way to a pedestrian-only road and had gratefully taken a seat.

“The moral is, if you’re gonna get stuck at the end of the universe, get stuck with an ex-Time Agent and his vortex manipulator,” Jack finished with the grin. The group had been sharing their memories of their time before the Master had opened his watch, piecing together what had happened.

“But this Master bloke, he’s got the TARDIS.  He could be anywhere in time and space,” Martha pointed out with a frown.

The Doctor shook his head, his eyes flickering around the street. “No, he’s here.  Trust me,” he said in a clearly distracted voice.

Martha sighed and looked over at Kayla, hoping the brunette would have more answers. “Who is he, anyway?  And that voice at the end, that wasn’t the professor.”

“The Master’s a Time Lord,” Kayla started slowly, frowning as she felt the Doctor start to grow concerned about something. “He probably regenerated.”

“What does that mean?” Martha pressed.

“He’s a completely new man now. Hair, face, body, _everything.”_

“Then how are we gonna find him?” Martha asked in a huff.

Kayla didn’t answer, instead looking to the Doctor. Her Bonded was staring at a homeless person intently, his mind racing as the man tapped out a four-beat pattern on his mug.

“I’ll know him, the moment I see him.  Time Lords always do,” the Doctor said in a soft voice, the four-beat pattern echoing loudly in his head.

The Doctor had explained to Kayla about the Master once. He had told her about the man’s insanity, the drums that had plagued him since he was eight. The Doctor had always made it clear that he regretted so much of their relationship and how much he wanted to help the man. He had told her about their plans to travel, and how he wished they had because maybe, if the Master saw the universe and its beauty, then he wouldn’t want to destroy it.

So Kayla knew he had conflicting thoughts about the situation they were in. And even though she was furious with him, Kayla couldn’t help but take the Doctor’s hand and give it a small squeeze. No matter what, she would help the Doctor face his childhood friend.

Martha suddenly rose, making Kayla look over at her. She watched as the woman’s eyes widened in horror as she looked around them properly for the first time. “But hold on. If he could be anyone…We missed the election.  But it can’t be…”

The Doctor, Jack, and Kayla all rose as well. The group walked over to a screen showing the news and watched as the newscaster proudly read out: _“Mr. Saxon has returned from the Palace and is greeting the crowd inside Saxon Headquarters.”_

The screen showed a grainy image of Mr. Saxon, the new Prime Minster, and his blonde-haired wife walking side-by-side down a long, red-carpeted staircase.

“I said I knew that voice.  When he spoke inside the TARDIS.  I’ve heard that voice hundreds of times.  I’ve seen him.  We all have.  That was the voice of Harold Saxon,” Martha breathed out, horrified.

The Doctor took a hesitant step forwards, staring intently at the screen. “That’s him.  He’s Prime Minister.”

_“Mr. Saxon, this way, sir.  Come on, kiss for the lady, sir,”_ a photographer called on screen.

With a smile that had likely charmed all the voters, the Master leaned over to his wife and gave her a loving kiss.

“The Master is Prime Minister of Great Britain,” the Doctor said, as if in a daze. “The Master and his _wife.”_

“I thought he never married,” Kayla pointed out with a frown.

The Doctor just nodded shakily, his mouth hanging open slightly as the Master stepped forwards to speak to the press.

_“This country has been sick.  This country needs healing.  This country needs medicine.  In fact, I’d go so far as to say that, what this country really needs, right now…is a doctor.”_ And then he smiled, showing a few too many teeth for it to look friendly.

* * *

The group had ended up going to Martha’s flat, not that it was much of a choice. It was close enough to the square that they were able to walk the entire way.

“Home,” Martha said as she led the Doctor, Jack, and Kayla into her flat. It was small and held a small amount of furniture in it, but Kayla could clearly see Martha relaxing as she took in the familiar surroundings.

“What have you got?  Computer, laptop, anything?” the Doctor asked Martha frantically. As the woman headed off to the other side of the room, the Doctor looked over to see Jack holding a mobile to his ear. “Jack, who are you phoning?  You can’t tell anyone we’re here!”

Jack shot the Doctor an annoyed look. “Just some friends of mine, but there’s no reply…”

Returning to the Time Lord, Martha handed him a laptop. “Here you go.  Any good?”

The Doctor handed the laptop over to Jack, who opened it as he headed over to small desk in the corner. “I can show you the Saxon websites.  He’s been around for ages,” he explained as he sat down.

“That’s so weird though.  It’s the day after the election.  That’s only four days after I met you two,” Martha remarked with a thoughtful frown.

“We were flying around the universe while he was here the entire time,” Kayla explained. “Vortex manipulators are a cheap way to travel.”

At the laptop, Jack rolled his eyes. “They work though,” he pointed out.

Kayla shrugged. “Barely. The Time Agency should have replaced them a long time ago. Or at least updated them. We had the technology –“

“But not the money,” Jack cut in. “That would cost billions of credits, at _least.”_

“It’s worth it in the long run,” Kayla pointed out while crossing her arms.

Opening his mouth to retort, Jack snapped it shut as the Doctor cut into the conversation. “Just pull up the website, _Jack._ This is _important.”_

Sending the Doctor an annoyed look, which made him bristle, Kayla sat down onto the couch and watched as the Doctor pulled a seat next to Jack while Martha crossed the room to her answering machine.

_“Martha, where are you?  I’ve got this new job.  You won’t believe it.  It’s weird, they just phoned me up out of the blue.  I’m working for—”_

Martha deleted the message with a roll of her eyes. “Oh, like it matters,” She snapped in a very un-Martha way. Kayla looked over at her to see the black woman pressing her hands to her temple and rubbing at it.

“Get something with a lot of sugar,” Kayla suggested. “It usually helps with the headaches.”

Martha gave Kayla a grateful look and headed over to her fridge.

* * *

Apparently, Jack was not the best with laptops. He had mentioned that at least five times while turning the laptop on and then while loading up the internet. When Kayla had snapped that _he_ had to be better at it by now, he had snapped back that: “usually Tosh does this!”

Kayla had given him a look at that, about to ask who exactly Tosh was, when Jack had clicked on the Harold Saxon official campaign site and a video had started to play.

_“I’m voting Saxon.  He can tick my box any day,”_ A woman informed them proudly, with a saucy grin on her face.

_“Vote Saxon!  Go Harry!”_ A boy added, dressed up in some sort of outfit.

_“I think Mr. Saxon is exactly what this country needs.  He’s a very fine man.  And he’s handsome too,”_ another woman said.

Looking as if he was going to puke, Jack paused the commercial and gave a theatrical shudder. “Way too campy.”

Kayla nodded in agreement. “Who is he though?”

In response, Jack scrolled down and started to read off the list that was on there. “Former Minister of Defence.  First came to prominence when he shot down the Racnoss on Christmas Eve.” Pausing, Jack turned to the Doctor and Kayla. “Nice work, by the way.”

The Doctor puffed up in pride, making Kayla roll her eyes. If it hadn’t been for Donna…her thought trailed off as she saw the Doctor slump a small bit. He had picked up on her thoughts, she realized.

“Thanks,” the Doctor said in a much different voice then the casual one had been planning on.

“He goes back years.  He’s famous.  Everyone knows his story.  Look.  Cambridge University, Rugby blue, won the Athletics thing, wrote a novel, went into business, marriage, everything.  He’s got a whole life,” Martha explained as she leaned over to the laptop to show the slideshow of images of Harold Saxon.

“Shouldn’t he have aged from university to getting into business?” Kayla pointed out with a frown.

“Skin care line,” Martha replied. At the skeptical look on Kayla’s face, she shrugged. “It works, really! My mum used it and removed all her wrinkles like _that_ ,” she explained with a snap of her fingers. “She wouldn’t stop telling me for days.”

“It made me break out,” Jack said with a frown. “My face itched for days.”

Getting to his feet, Jack headed over to the kitchen and started to make tea, as if that would help with the remembered pain.

“Maybe it isn’t the face cream. He’s got a TARDIS.  Maybe the Master went back in time and has been living here for decades,” he suggested suddenly.

The Doctor shook his head. “No.”

“Why not? Worked for me,” Jack protested with shrug.

“When he was stealing the TARDIS, the only thing I could do was fuse the coordinates.  I locked them permanently. He can only travel between the year 100 trillion and the last place the TARDIS landed.  Which is right here, right now.”

Kayla frowned, a thought coming to her suddenly. “How much leeway?” she asked.

The Doctor’s brow furrowed at the question, but then he shook his head. “Well…18 months, tops.  The most he could have been here is 18 months.  So how has he managed all this?  The Master was always sort of…hypnotic but this is on a massive scale.”

“I was gonna vote for him,” Martha said suddenly, an odd look on her face.

“Really?” the Doctor asked with a frown.

Martha shrugged. “Well, it was before I even met you.  And I liked him.”

“Me too,” Jack added in suddenly, the same odd look on his face.

Kayla frowned at her father. The way he had acted about the campaign video, as if he had never seen it, didn’t go with the careful checking that her father did before he voted. “Jack, what was his policy? What did he stand for?”

Jack just frowned at her. He looked over to Martha, who gave him a shrug. “I dunno.  He always sounded…good,” Martha tried to explain. As she spoke, her fingers started to tap out a four-beat rhythm on her thigh. “Like you could trust him.  Just nice.  He spoke about…I can’t really remember, but it was good.  Just the sound of his voice.”

The Doctor got up from the sofa arm he had been sitting on and walked over to Martha. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to her hands.

Startled, Martha jumped and looked over at the Doctor as if he had grown an extra head. Jack, who had been nodding to what Martha had been saying, also jumped. “What?” Martha snapped at him, clearly still jumpy.

“The tapping you were doing,” Kayla replied in a much calmer voice than her Bonded. “The rhythm you were tapping.”

Martha frowned. “I dunno.  It’s nothing.  It’s j—  I dunno!” Flushing from embracement, Martha turned away from Kayla and the Doctor to loudly put away Jack’s tea mug.

The laptop suddenly started to play a loud tune. The Doctor, his eyes widening, ran over to the website and then flipped on the TV and sat down on the couch next to Kayla. “Our lord and master is speaking to his kingdom,” he informed the others.

And he was right, because on the screen was the Master, still dressed in the suit and sitting at a table.

_“Britain, Britain, Britain.  What extraordinary times we’ve had.  Just a few years ago, this world was so small.  And then they came, out of the unknown, falling from the skies.”_

A clip played of a spaceship ramming into Big Ben, taking off most of the famous clock’s side. _“You’ve seen it happen—Big Ben destroyed, a spaceship over London.”_

Another clip played of the ghosts from Torchwood One shifting into the Cybermen as people around them backed away in shock. _“All those ghosts and metal men.”_

And finally, a clip of the Racnoss’ webbed ship, shaped like a star, shooting down beams of light and killing. _“The Christmas star that came to kill,”_ the Master finished in a solemn voice.

_“Time and time again the government told you nothing.  Well not me.  Not Harold Saxon.  Because my purpose here today is to tell you this—citizens of Great Britain…I have been contacted.  A message, for humanity, from beyond the stars.”_ He nodded to someone off camera, and his image was replaced with a floating sphere bobbing up and down.

_“People of the Earth, we come in peace.  We bring great gifts.  WE bring technology and wisdom and protection.  And all we ask in return is your friendship,”_ the sphere said in a distinctly female voice.

Image changed back to the Master, who was smiling at the camera. _“Ooh, sweet.  And this species has identified itself.  They’re called the Toclafane.”_

“What?!” the Doctor cried out, images flashing through his mind to Kayla of two young boys sitting across from each other in the dark as one of them told the other of the creatures that would take naughty children at night.

Unaware of the Doctor’s cry, the Master was still speaking. _“And tomorrow morning they will appear.  Not in secret, but to all of you.  Diplomatic relations with a new species will begin.  Tomorrow, we take our place in the universe.  Every man, woman and child.  Every teacher and chemist and lorry driver and farmer.  And every…oh, I don’t know…medical student?”_

Whipping the TV around violently, the foursome stared at a bomb that was about to go off. For a moment, everyone was too shocked to move, but then the Doctor grabbed Kayla and lifted her to her feet, and Jack grabbed the laptop and Martha’s hand, and the four ran from the flat to the street just as the font windows exploded outwards.

_‘You okay?’_ the Doctor asked Kayla mentally, his arms wrapped tightly around her.

Kayla nodded mutely, still several steps behind. Had they not left when they had…

_‘Don’t think about it, Kayla.’_ The Doctor said gently. _‘We got out. You are fine. The baby is fine.’_

Resting his chin on top of Kayla’s the Doctor looked over to Jack. “All right?” he asked.

Jack nodded. “Fine, yeah, fine.” He looked over at Kayla who gave him a small nod and a smile.

The Doctor looked over at Martha, who was on her mobile. He frowned and moved away from Kayla, his arms leaving their wrapped position but his hand going to hers. After what the Master just pulled, there was no way he was letting go of her. “Martha? What are you doing?”

“He knows about me.  What about my family?” Martha asked the Doctor frantically.

“Don’t tell them anything!” the Doctor snapped, his eyes widening. He looked over at Kayla and then nearly growled as he swiveled back to Martha.

“I’ll do what I like!” Martha shouted back, and then her defensive look slumped to a calmer one. “Mum? Oh my God, you’re there.”

Running his free hand through his hair, the Doctor glared at Martha as she spoke to her mother.

“I’m fine.  I’m fine.  Mum, has there been anyone asking about me?” Martha paused and then shook her head. “I can’t!  Not now!” She protested. She paused again and then frowned, her brow furrowing. “Don’t be so daft!  Since when?”

Kayla watched as Martha’s body stiffened. She looked over at the Doctor, who had let go of Kayla’s hand to pace furiously back and forth. “You said you’d never get back with him in a million years,” Martha reminded her mother in a soft voice.

There was a much longer pause than the earlier ones and then Martha asked: “Dad?  What are you doing there?”

Martha seemed to steel herself – she closed her eyes, and took a deep breath before she asked in a soft voice: “Dad?  Just say yes or no.  Is there someone else there?”

There was a long pause and then Martha looked over at Kayla her face paling as she started to run to her car. “Dad!  What’s going on?  Dad?” She yelled into her phone. But when no answer came, she hung up the call in favor of unlocking the doors.

“I gotta help them!” She yelled frantically to the Doctor and Kayla and Jack.

“That’s exactly what they want!  It’s a trap!” the Doctor protested.

“I don’t care!” Martha snapped back. She got into her car and turned it on, leaving the Doctor, Jack, and Kayla little choice but to get in the car as well. Kayla found herself in the back seat, next to the Doctor, while Jack sat in the passenger seat next to Martha.

Martha sped backwards and then turned tightly, her tires squealing as she drove recklessly to her mum’s house.

“Corner!” Jack warned.

Not replying, Martha took the corner tightly.

Growling, Martha pressed a button her mobile and then put it on speaker.

“C’mon, Tish.  Pick up,” Martha pleaded.

_“Martha, I can’t talk right now.  We just made first contact.  Did you see—“_ Tish’s voice cut off as there was sudden noise. And then her voice, in clear angry protest, snapped out, _“What are you doing?!”_

There was a loud noise, likely the phone dropping, and Tish’s voice started to grow softer as she was forcibly removed from where she had been. _“Get off!  Linda, tell them!”_

And, of course, Martha, Jack, the Doctor, and Kayla heard it all.

“What’s happening?!  Tish!” Martha yelled into the phone, but got no response. Hanging up the call, Martha’s hands tightened on the wheel. Her eyes flicked up in her mirror to meet the Doctor’s. “It’s your fault!  It’s all your fault!” She snapped at him.

The Doctor did not reply.

The rest of the ride was a tense silence until Martha turned hard and started to slow, a horrified gasp coming from her as she saw her mother fighting a group of men who were dragging her into a van, her father’s familiar figure already in.

“Martha, get out of here!  Get out!” Martha’s mother screamed.

A blonde woman next to the van turned to face the car. She said something to the police that caused them to turn to face them.

“Martha, reverse,” the Doctor ordered urgently, leaning around to see the sight for himself.

The blonde woman said another thing, which caused the police to point their guns at the car.

“Get out, now!” the Doctor shouted the order.

Out of whatever fog she had been in, Martha reversed back sharply and spun around, driving away from her parents. This was done not a moment too soon, because Kayla and the Doctor had to duck down as bullets started to hit their speedily leaving car.

“Move it!” Jack added to Martha, looking worriedly behind him to Kayla.

* * *

They drove down the streets at a hurried pace. Martha started to drum her fingers on the wheel, agitated about the situation they were in. “The only place we can go…planet Earth.  Great,” she snapped.

“Careful,” the Doctor warned as they narrowly missed jumping the curb. He winced as he heard the honking behind them. The last thing they needed was _another_ reason for the police to be out for them.

As if he was used to taking control of stressful situations, it had always been Kayla at the Time Agency, Jack turned in his seat to look at Martha. “Now, Martha, listen to me.  Do as I say.  We’ve gotta ditch this car.  Pull over.” When Martha didn’t jump to pulling over, Jack added in a shout, “Right now!”

Jumping, Martha jerked her wheel sharply, causing several cars behind them to honk angrily. Ignoring them, Martha pulled into a spot and got out of the car along with the Doctor, Jack and Kayla.

Keeping their heads down, they started to hurry away from the car. The Doctor looked around him frantically and then paused, seeing Martha slowing as she messed with her mobile. “Martha, come on!” he snapped.

Waving her hand at him, Martha held the phone to her. “Leo!  Oh, thank God!  Leo, you gotta listen to me.  Where are you?” There was a pause and then Martha shook her head. “Leo, just listen to me.  Don’t go home, I’m telling you.  Don’t phone Mum or Dad or Tish.  You’ve gotta hide.”

Obviously Leo protested, because Martha huffed in frustration. “On my life.  You’ve gotta trust me.  Go to Boxer’s.  Stay with him. Don’t tell anyone!  Just hide!”

There was a very long pause from Martha, as, Kayla assumed, Leo asked why his sister was telling him to hide at his friend’s house. Her hearts stopped and she whirled around, the Doctor doing the same next to her, as Martha started to shout into her phone: “Let them go, Saxon. Do you hear me?!  Let them go!”

Rushing over to his companion, the Doctor took the mobile phone off her and held it to his ear. Shaken, Martha backed away and slumped against the wall. Kayla walked over to her and placed a comforting hand on the black woman’s shoulder as she listened through the mental link to what the Doctor and the Master were saying.

“I’m here,” the Doctor said into the phone.

_“Doctor,”_ the Master greet, his voice serious.

“Master,” the Doctor greeted in the same serious voice.

_“I like it when you use my name.”_

If it had been a less tense moment, the Doctor would have rolled his eyes at the Master’s statement. Though the mental link, Kayla could feel his conflicting feelings about the Master. Even though the Master had nearly killed them, the Doctor still felt the fondness for his childhood friend.

So it came as no surprise to Kayla that the Doctor replied almost casually, “You chose it.  Psychiatrist’s field day.”

_“As you chose yours.  The man who makes people better.  How sanctimonious is that?”_

Not responding to that, the Doctor quickly changed topics. “So…Prime Minister.”

_“I know.  It’s good, isn’t it?”_ the Master asked, almost sounding like a child showing their painting to their parent in hopes of praise.

“Who are those creatures?  ‘Cause there’s no such thing as the Toclafane.  It’s just a made-up name like the Bogeyman.”

The Master sighed through the phone. _“Do you remember all those fairy tales about the Toclafane when we were kids?  Back home.  Where is it, Doctor?”_

Kayla winced as she felt a deep, welling sadness emerge in the Doctor at the mention of his childhood home. “Gone,” the Doctor said in a soft voice.

_“How can Gallifrey be gone?”_ the Master asked, sounding genuinely confused.

“It burnt,” the Doctor answered flatly.

_“And the Time Lords?”_

“Dead.”

_“What about the one you have traveling with you?”_

“She was human originally,” the Doctor explained.

_“You always like playing with those apes, Doctor,”_ the Master tutted.

The Doctor shook his head. “The Daleks are gone as well…more or less. What happened to you?”

_“The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I’d be the perfect warrior for a Time War.  I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform.  I saw it.  I ran.  I ran so far.  Made myself human so they would never find me because…I was so scared.”_

“I know,” the Doctor said, looking down as his mind conjured up the memories of those events.

The Master sighed again. _“All of them?  But now you, which must mean…”_

Too wrapped up in the feelings of guilt that overwhelmed him, the Doctor struggled to explain. “I was the only one who could end it.  And I tried.  I did.  I tried everything.”

_“What did it feel like, though?  Two almighty civilizations burning.  Oh, tell me, how did it feel?”_ the Master asked, his tone turning gleeful.

The Doctor shook his head rapidly, as if to dispel what the Master was saying. “Stop it!”

_“You must have been like God.”_

“It’s just been Kayla and I ever since. But not anymore. Don’t you see, all we have is three of us.”

_“Four,”_ the Master corrected in a cold voice that made Kayla freeze in place. She watched as the Doctor looked over to her and their eyes met. _“Are you asking me to play babysitter?”_

“You could stop this right now.  We could leave this planet.  We could fight across the constellations if that’s what you want.  But not on Earth,” the Doctor offered quickly.

_“Too late,”_ the Master responded.

“Why do you say that?” the Doctor asked, worry starting to overtake the guilt he had been feeling earlier.

_“The drumming,”_ the Master said simply. _“I thought it would stop but it never does.  Never ever stops.  Inside my head, the drumming, Doctor.  The constant drumming.”_

“I could help you.  Please, let me help,” the Doctor pleaded.

_“It’s everywhere.  Listen, listen, listen. Here come the drums.  Here come the drums.”_

The same rhythm that Martha had been tapping out in the flat started again, only this time it was from a man leaning against the wall, his hands hitting his legs in a steady, four-beat pattern.

“What have you done?  Tell me how you’ve done this.  What are those creatures?  Tell me!”

Not answering, the Master’s voice changed in tone. _“Ooh, look.  You’re on TV.”_

“Stop it!  Answer me!” The Doctor snapped back in frustration.

_“No, really.  You’re on telly! You and your little band, which, by the way, is ticking every demographic box.  So, congratulations on that.  Look, there you are!  Ha!”_

Walking further away from the rest, the Doctor looked into a TV window to see a BBC newscast showing pictures of the foursome. _“…They are known to be armed and extremely dangerous,”_ the newscaster was warning.

Kayla hurried over, Jack and Martha following just in time to see their images fading from the screen.

_“You’re public enemies number one, two, three, and four.  Oh, and you can tell handsome Jack that I’ve sent his little gang off on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas so he won’t be getting any help from them,”_ the Master said in a joyful voice. _“Now, go on, off you go.  Why not start by turning to the right?”_

Doing as the Master said, the Doctor looked up to see a camera pointed directly at them. “He can see us,” he reported to the others before destroying it with his sonic screwdriver.

_“Ooh, you public menace.  Better start running.  Go on.  Run!”_

“He’s got control of everything,” Kayla said with a shake of her head.

“What do we do?” Martha asked, her eyes widening as she looked around.

“We’ve got nowhere to go,” Jack pointed out.

“Doctor, Kayla, what do we do?” Martha pressed.

_“Run for your life, Doctor!”_ the Master added in from the phone.

Not bothering to hang up the phone, the Doctor turned to the others. “We run,” he said simply.

And so they did. They ran through a shopping arcade, hurrying away from the TVs and the cameras.

_“I said, run!”_ the Master yelled before the call was disconnected.


	33. Sound of Drums Pt. 2

It was raining. The water droplets hit the roof of the warehouse that Jack, Martha, the Doctor, and Kayla had found. Using the darkness from the rain, Martha had snuck out to go get some chips, leaving Jack, the Doctor, and Kayla in an uncomfortable silence.

The brunette looked in between her Bonded, the Doctor, and her father, Jack. She crossed her arms over her stomach and finally asked the question she had be burning to ask the two men, “Why?”

The Doctor, who had been using Martha’s laptop, and Jack, who had been using his Vortex Manipulator, both turned to look at each other and then Kayla in confusion. When she didn’t elaborate, the Doctor hesitantly asked, “Why what?”

“Why would either of you think you have the _right_ to keep something so important from me?” Kayla snapped, her voice constantly threatening to rise in volume. The only thing stopping her from shouting at them was the risk of someone hearing her and then reporting to the police.

The Doctor winced and looked over at Jack for help, but Jack looked just as pained as the Doctor _knew_ he looked.

Kayla, seeing the exchange of looks, seemed to, somehow, get even angrier. She had been getting angrier and angrier as she held her tongue, and by the time she had started she was already furious. But seeing the Doctor and Jack look at each other as if they had no idea what to say made it even worse.

“Don’t you have _anything_ to say for yourselves?” she snapped at them.

The Doctor, either bravely or stupidly, started off first. “Kayla,” he said in a soft, slow voice, “You weren’t conscious when Jack was brought back. The moment he was all I could feel was…pain and wrongness and –“ the Doctor took a deep breath and shook his head. “Even now, all I want to do is grab you and run from him. He _hurts.”_

He paused to look at Kayla’s expression and winced as he saw the deep frown on her face. “I ended up telling you about Jack and you obsessed over finding him. You didn’t eat, didn’t sleep, didn’t move from the console. And then, one day, you collapsed at the console. I took you to the med bay, I did a scan and,” the Doctor swallowed hard. “The scan theorized you would have a couple of months left before you were in dire medical attention. I had to do _something,_ Kayla, so I did.

“I had the TARDIS do a scan for Jack and found him in London. I explained the situation, I explained how you were trying to track him via his spare vortex manipulator. We came up with a plan. He’d send a notification to you and stage his death. The only thing I had to do is give him his vortex manipulator and – “

“And wipe my memory of him being immortal,” Kayla finished for him.

The Doctor nodded. “Yes,” he agreed.

Giving him a glare that made the Doctor’s stomach turn and his hearts drop, Kayla turned to Jack. “Well?” she snapped.

Jack just shrugged. “It happened like he said. He showed me what you looked like Kayla, and it was...you looked better at the Time Agency.”

Kayla looked down, the memory of how she had looked during _that_ period of her life hitting her. Through the mental link, she winced as she got a brief flash of the image the Doctor was thinking of. She swallowed hard.

“Would you do it again?” she asked the two men.

“You were dying in front of me, Kayla,” the Doctor started slowly.

“It’s a yes or no question, Doctor,” Kayla pointed out while crossing her arms.

For a moment the Doctor seemed too hurt to speak, but then he almost snapped, “Do you think I _liked_ doing it, Kayla? Because it was the worst moment in the world for me. I broke your trust in me, and you have every right to be angry at me for that, but it was either that or me tracking Jack down to tell him you were _dead.”_

“But you know how I feel about memory wipes!” Kayla protested. “After everything I’ve told you about the Time Agency, about what they made _me_ do, and about what they did _to_ me, you _still_ wiped my memory!”

“Because you were killing yourself, Kayla!”

The Doctor’s emotion-filled shout hung in the air heavily, making Kayla take a step back as if she had been struck.

“I would never have let it get that far,” she said in a weak voice.

The Doctor just shook his head. “Let me show you,” he offered while taking a step forwards. When Kayla made no move to step back, he took another step forwards, and then another until he was in front of his Bonded. He placed both hands on the side of her head and closed his eyes. After a moment, Kayla did the same.

* * *

_“Kayla,” the Doctor’s voice was strained as he followed the brunette around the console. They had just landed somewhere and she was heading over to the monitor to look at it to see if her father was outside. The Doctor already knew he wasn’t, because they had gone through this routine over a hundred times._

_“Kayla,” the Doctor tried again when she hadn’t responded. The brunette was gasping for breath now, the half-circle around the console proving to be too hard on her body. She hadn’t eaten or slept in the past week and the Doctor wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t concerned._

_It happened in slow motion, to the Doctor. He watched, in horror, as Kayla started to cough. Hard. Her body shook with the coughs and, as he moved to reach out and grab her, she fell back with her eyes rolling back in her head and closing. Her breath, painfully wheezing, was far too weak for the Doctor to do anything but pick her up and run to the med bay._

_All he could think about was how light she was in his arms._

* * *

The Doctor pulled back from the connection as gently as possible, watching as Kayla’s eyes fluttered open.

“I’m sorry, Kayla,” the Doctor whispered, “I’m so, so sorry.”

Kayla didn’t respond for a long time. Instead, she just hugged the Doctor tightly, burring her face into his jacket. It took the Doctor a second to realize that she was crying – sobbing, really.

* * *

When Martha Jones snuck back into the warehouse, a bag of food in hand, she found the Doctor still working on her laptop, and Jack still working on his manipulator. The only thing that had changed was Kayla sitting next to the Time Lord. They were much closer than they had been before she left, which made Martha rather happy. Seeing the two of them fighting was far too similar to when she had been a little girl and hiding on the top step listening in on her parents fighting.

But something was still off with the couple. That was blatant to Martha. The way Kayla was watching the Doctor wasn’t with the usual expression of a smile, but instead it was one of…confusion. As if she didn’t know what to think of him.

The only reason Martha recognized the expression was because she had looked at the Doctor the same way when they had first met.

Frowning, Martha shifted her weight onto her other foot, drawing Jack’s attention to her. It was almost startling how much he picked up.

“How was it?” he asked, effectively drawing the Doctor’s and Kayla’s attention to Martha as well.

Martha shrugged. “I don’t think anyone saw me.  Anything new?” She asked, already starting to walk over to an empty seat by the almost dead fire they had set up.

Jack grinned, looking far too pleased with himself. “I’ve got this tuned into the government wavelength so we can follow what Saxon’s doing,” he informed her with a motion to his manipulator. Martha still had no idea what it did, only that it was very useful.

“I meant about my family,” Martha corrected.

“Still just the Jones family taken in for questioning,” Kayla informed her. “But there’s no mention of Leo.”

Martha smiled at Kayla. “He’s not as daft as he looks,” she remarked…and then her smile fell and she shook her head and sat down with a thump in a seat, the bag of food hitting the ground. “I’m talking about my brother on the run.  How did this happen?” she asked.

Carrying his chair over to where Martha had sat down, Jack picked up the dropped bag and ate one of the chips and then smiled. “Nice chips.”

The Doctor brought over both his and Kayla’s chair and took the bag from Jack. For a moment, their hands brushed and he winced as if he had been slapped, making Martha send him an odd look. But the Doctor didn’t say anything so she instead went back to glowering at the floor while she thought about her brother on the run and her family locked up.

“Actually, they’re not that bad,” the Doctor agreed with Jack, sounding shocked. He passed one over to Kayla and watched as she took a bite and then made a face. She gave him the rest of the chip, making the Doctor frown deeply. Kayla loved chips, and ever since she had gotten pregnant, that love had seem to grow.

Distracted by his concern at this behavior, the Doctor didn’t notice Jack and Martha sending each other looks, trying to convince the other to speak. Huffing, Jack was the one who asked: “So, Doctor, who is he?  How come the ancient society of Time Lords created a psychopath?”

The Time Agency had studied the Time Lords, had looked up to them and their time travel. They had been idolized, basically. And, during his time at Torchwood, Jack had taken the opportunity to ask other species. Those who knew about the Time Lords spoke about them like gods. So the idea of the Master, who was clearly a psychopath, confused Jack. How could a god go insane like the Master had?

“And what is he to you?  Like a colleague…” Martha added on, her voice trailing off meaningfully.

The Doctor sighed. “A friend, at first,” he corrected in a tone that was just a little too light, too uncaring, to fool anyone that this wasn’t a touchy subject.

Martha leaned back in her chair, frowning. “I thought you were gonna say he was your secret brother or something.”

Kayla stared at Martha. “You’ve been watching too much TV,” she chastised with a shake of her head. Martha just shrugged and chuckled half-heartedly in response.

Also giving Martha an odd look, Jack turned to the Doctor. “But all the legends of Gallifrey made it sound so perfect,” he pointed out with a frown.

“Jack, the Time Agency wasn’t truthful ever – especially about Gallifrey,” Kayla pointed out.

The Doctor nodded. “It was perfect to look at, maybe. It was beautiful. They used to call it the Shining World of the Seven Systems.  And on the Continent of Wild Endeavour, in the Mountains of Solace and Solitude, there stood the Citadel of the Time Lords.”

Through the mental link, Kayla could picture the planet herself. The sky was a brilliant orange and yellow with two suns hanging in it. The snow-capped mountains surrounded a glass dome, the Citadel. Silver-leaved trees waved in the wind as two young boys ran through the red grass.

“The oldest and most mighty race in the universe…looking down on the galaxies below…sworn never to interfere…only to watch. Children of Gallifrey, taken from their families at the age of eight to enter the Academy.  And some say that’s when it all began.  When he was a child… that’s when the Master saw eternity.  As a novice, he was taken for initiation, it’s a gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex.”

Kayla winced as the image of the Master as a child appeared. Still young, the boy seemed to almost flinch away from the schism, but then something seemed to draw him in and all he could do was stare…and stare…and stare.

“You stand there, eight years old…staring at the raw power of time and space, just a child.  Some would be inspired…some would run away…and some would go mad,” the Doctor finished. Kayla briefly caught the image of the schism through his mind, before it was pushed away by the Doctor himself.

“What about you?” Martha asked as the Doctor took a bite from another chip.

The Doctor smiled, through it didn’t reach his eyes like it usually did. “Oh, the ones that ran away.  I never stopped.”

Before anyone could really formulate a response, Jack’s vortex manipulator beeped. Kayla looked over at him sharply. “Who’s messaging you?” she asked. It would be just their look to have a Time Agent coming after them.

“Encrypted channel with files attached.  Don’t recognize it,” Jack read off with a frown and a furrowed brow. It had been sent through to Torchwood Three, which meant that it couldn’t be a Time Agent.

“Patch it through to the laptop,” the Doctor instructed with a wave of his hand to said device.

At that, Jack winced, making Kayla and the Doctor look at him warily. “Um, since we’re telling stories, um, there’s something I haven’t told you.” He admitted.

That something was revealed when Jack sat down on the laptop and patched the message through. The first thing that popped up was the Torchwood logo in all its familiar, nausea inducing glory.

Kayla stared at her father, horrified. Her mind was already bringing up the memories of what had happened there when she had been pregnant. She took a hesitant step back from the computer, and Jack, her hand going to her stomach in a protective manner.

The Doctor pulled Kayla into a tight hug, keeping her at his side and _far_ away from the now-exposed Torchwood agent.

“Did you know we were prisoners there?” Kayla asked Jack in a hoarse voice.

Jack winced at the question. “I tried everything, but Torchwood Three is _nothing_ to Torchwood One.”

“Kayla nearly lost our child there,” the Doctor snapped with a glare to Jack.

Jack nodded. “The old regime was destroyed at Canary Wharf.  I rebuilt it, I changed it.  And when I did that, I did it for you, in your honor.”

When the Doctor and Kayla didn’t respond to him, Jack opened up the file. A video of an older woman with blonde grey-streaked hair, sitting at a desk, appeared. _“If I haven’t returned to my desk by 2200 hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood.  Which means, if you’re watching this, then I’m… Anyway, the Saxon files are attached.  But take a look at the Archangel document.  That’s when it all started.  When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network.”_

The screen changed from her image to a graphic of the spinning Earth with satellites.

“What’s the Archangel Network?” the Doctor asked, shaking his head in confusion.

Martha pulled out her mobile and handed it to the Time Lord so he could look down at it. “I’ve got Archangel.  Everyone’s got it.” She said with a shrug.

“It’s the mobile phone network.  ‘Cause, look, it’s gone worldwide.  They’ve got 15 satellites in orbit.  Even the other networks, they’re all carried by Archangel,” Jack elaborated on.

Kayla stared down at Martha’s phone cautiously. “There’s no way to escape him.”

Nodding, the Doctor took out his sonic and used it on the phone. Looking at the readings, he grinned despite their troubling report. “It’s in the phones!  Oh, I said he was a hypnotist!  Wait, wait, wait.  Hold on.” He hit the bottom of the phone, making Martha wince. However, the phone started to beep out the same four-beat rhythm that had gotten to everyone. “There it is.  That rhythm, it’s everywhere.  Ticking away in the subconscious.”

“What is it, mind control?” Martha asked, more than a bit disgusted at the idea that this alien had been subconsciously getting to everyone in the entire world for over a year.

The Doctor shook his head. “No, no, no, no.  Subtler than that.  Any stronger and people would question it.  But contained in that rhythm, in layers of code… Vote Saxon.  Believe in me.  Whispering to the world.  Oh, yes!  That’s how he hid himself from me.  ‘Cause I should have sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth.  I should have known way back.  The signal cancelled him out,” he explained almost frantically.

“Anyway we can stop it?” Kayla asked the Doctor.

“Not from down here.  But now we know how he’s doing it,” the Doctor pointed out.

“Which means we can fight back.”

The Doctor kissed Kayla on the nose. “Oh yes!” He agreed with a smile.

Giving her a peck on the lips, the Doctor grabbed the laptop from Jack and started to take both that and the phone apart. He paused and then asked, and received, Jack’s, Martha’s, and Kayla’s keys from them. Putting those items onto the table, he used the circuitry from the laptop and soniced to the keys. Digging around in his pockets, he pulled out three bits of strings and looped it through the hole at the top, making the keys wearable. After a pause, he gathered the last bit of material together to do his own key.

Finally finished, he held up the four keys to his bewildered audience. “Four TARDIS keys, four pieces of the TARDIS with low-level perception properties because the TARDIS is designed to blend in.  Well, sort of, but…Now!  The Archangel Network’s got a second low-level signal.  Weld the key to the network and…Martha,” the Doctor paused to take a step back, “look at me.  You can see me, yes?”

“Yep!” Martha agreed, a bit confused. He had only taken a step back, not run behind her.

“What about now?” the Doctor asked as he slipped the key over his neck.

The effect was clear as soon as the key hit the Doctor. Martha tried to look at him, but her eyesight kept blurring and turning away.

Kayla and Jack, who had both experience the effects of a perception filter, smiled. It was always such a strange feeling – knowing someone was there but being unable to see them.

“No, I’m here.  Look at me,” the Doctor called to Martha, the smile obvious in his voice. He was having far too much fun with this.

Martha shook her head. “It’s like…I know you’re there but I don’t want to know.”

“And back again,” the Doctor said as he took off his key. “See?  It just shifts your perception a tiny little bit.  Doesn’t make us invisible, just unnoticed. Oh, I know what it’s like.  It’s like—it’s like when you fancy someone and they don’t even know you exist.  That’s what it’s like.  Come on!” He ran over to Kayla and took her hand and pulled her along with him, beaming at his success.

_‘Doctor, it didn’t work on me,’_ Kayla admitted through the mental link.

_‘We’re Bonded Kayla, nothing can hide you from me,’_ the Doctor replied. _‘It will work on the Master. He will not hurt you Kayla, I won’t let him,’_ he vowed.

They waited by the warehouse for Martha and Jack, who slipped on their keys. The Doctor turned to Kayla, gave her a small kiss, and then slipped her key over her head before finally slipping on his.

“Don’t run.  Don’t shout.  Just keep your voice down.  Draw attention to yourself and the spell is broken.  Just keep to the shadows,” the Doctor instructed.

“Like ghosts,” Jack commented dryly.

“Yeah, that’s what we are.  Ghosts,” the Doctor agreed, no humor left in his voice at all. He reached out and took Kayla’s hand and gave it a squeeze as they headed off into the night.

* * *

They watched, silent and still, as the Master and his human wife Lucy greeted the President from the plane. They watched as the Master made an ass of himself, angering the President to take over the entire procedure. By the small smile on the Master’s lips, and the way he smirked at the President’s back, it was clear that America being in charge was _exactly_ what he wanted.

Ushering his wife off, the Master turned and looked over at where their group was standing. The Doctor tilted his head up slightly, as if he was challenging to the Master to come over to them. But the Master just turned, smirking, as a police van pulled up. The people in the back were ushered out, revealing themselves as Martha’s parents and her sister.

“Oh my God,” Martha gasped, horrified at the sight of her parents being grabbed at by guards and pushed to that…that _monster!_

“You can’t move,” Kayla reminded Martha in a low voice.

“But…” Martha protested helplessly, her parents leaving her view.

“Don’t,” the Doctor ordered.

As Martha’s family was transferred to a large Land Rover, Martha shook her head. “I’m gonna kill him.” She growled.

“Say I use this perception filter to walk up behind him and break his neck?” Jack offered.

“You would be shot down the second you moved,” Kayla pointed out. “There are snipers waiting for us to appear.”

Jack huffed, as if he had known that all along. “Still a good plan,” he grumbled.

The Doctor gave the two worried looks, clearly disagree with how the three viewed the situation. “He’s a Time Lord, which makes him my responsibility.  I’m not here to kill him.  I’m here to save him.”

_‘Since I’m a Time Lady, doesn’t that give me say?’_ Kayla questioned.

_‘He’s my best friend, Kayla. I have to at least try.’_

Kayla pursed her lips and crossed her arms. _‘Doctor…what if he isn’t worth trying for?’_ she pointed out, her mind going to her thoughts about her pregnancy. If the Master were to somehow harm their child…

_‘If it gets that far then he’ll be dead,’_ the Doctor vowed bluntly. A chill traveled up her spine at how cold his mental voice was…at what the Doctor was promising.

Martha nudged the Doctor softly, making the two break away from their conversation almost guilty to hear Jack reading from his vortex manipulator. “Aircraft carrier _Valiant._ It’s a UNIT ship at 28.2N and 10.02E.”

“How do we get onboard?” Martha asked, frowning. Knowing the location was fine, but their lack of TARDIS posed a transport problem.

The Doctor looked over a Jack. “Does that thing work as a teleport?” he asked.

Jack nodded. “Since you revamped it, yeah.” He smirked and, without a pause to punch in anything, he added, “Coordinates set.”

Gathering them all around the manipulator, Kayla watched as the Doctor made sure they were all holding onto Jack’s arm before he nodded his head. Jack pressed the button, and they were sent to a humid, steam-filled engine room.

Kayla winced, a headache already forming. She rubbed at her head, trying not to frown at how…adversely the travel had affected her. Usually, she was the least affected, but now she felt like her stomach was about to upturn. She slumped against the wall, refusing to meet Jack’s worried gaze. Even _he_ had already brushed off the affects.

“Oh, that thing is rough,” Martha groaned, rubbing at her head.

Jack gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I’ve has worse nights,” he admitted. He cracked his neck loudly, making Kayla wince at the noise. “Welcome to the _Valiant.”_

Martha looked at a nearby porthole window. “It’s down, she remarked. Frowning, she walked over to it and peered out. “Hold on, I thought this was a ship.  Where’s the sea?”

“A ship for the 21st century.  Protecting the skies of planet Earth,” Jack explained, walking up behind her.

“It’s an aircraft carrier?” Kayla asked, her eyes widening. At least in a normal boat, they could have jumped and then swim off had things gone bad. An aircraft carrier would be much, much harder to get away from.

Picking up on her thoughts, the Doctor stepped over to Kayla and took both her hands to give them a gently squeeze. _‘I promise, Kayla. He will not touch you.’_

Dropping one of her hands, the Doctor turned to Jack and Martha. “We need to get to the Master before he’s able to do what he’s planning.”

The two nodded, which made the Doctor smile grimly.

* * *

The foursome had been running through the maintenance halls, thankfully not running into anyone, when the Doctor and Kayla stopped to look down a hall together before exchanging very pleased, if tense, looks.

“We’ve no time for sightseeing!” Jack chastised when he turned around to see them no longer running and instead looking at each other.

“No, no.  Wait.  Shh, shh, shh.  Can’t you hear it?” the Doctor asked, tilting his head towards a corridor.

Behind the couple, Martha shook her head. “Doctor, my family’s on board,” she huffed in reminder as she strode past.

“Brilliant!  This way!”

Leading the group, Martha and Jack ran after the Doctor and Kayla as they changed directions and started down more sets of corridors until they hit a set of doors that the Doctor pushed open to reveal…

The TARDIS.

“Oh, at last!” the Doctor cheered.

“Oh, yes!” Martha agreed with a laugh.

“What’s it doing on the _Valiant?”_ Jack pointed out with a frown.

The Doctor strode to the doors and pushed them open. Instead of the cool, blue light of his interior to hit him, the Doctor stumbled back, letting go Kayla’s hand in horrified shock, when a hot, red light hit him instead.

The Time Lord, his expression now pained, walked into the TARDIS and stared around the console room, Kayla walking behind him. Without even looking, he reached out and took her hand to squeeze it tightly, unable to believe what the Master had done to his ship…his home.

“What the hell’s he done?” Jack asked, his voice sounding just as horrified as the Doctor and Kayla felt.

“Don’t touch _anything,”_ Kayla warned him, knowing he was probably drawn towards the machine in its current state. Though she loathed to admit it, her father _was_ a paradox.

“I’m not going to,” Jack promised, and then crossed his arms to prove this point, his hands tucking underneath.

“What’s he done though?  Sounds like it’s… sick,” Martha pointed out with a frown, her head tilted to the side as she waved her hand over to the caged console, which had been stripped of different parts as well.

“It can’t be.  No, no, no, no, no, no, it can’t be,” the Doctor said, shaking his head.

“Denying it won’t change it,” Kayla said softly, her eyes on the console as well. At the questioning look Martha sent her, Kayla ran a hand through her hair. “He cannibalized the TARDIS. It’s eating itself up to make a paradox. It’s a paradox machine,” she explained with a shake of her head.

The Doctor took a step forwards and motioned at an object. “As soon as this hits red, it activates.  At this speed, it’ll _trigger,”_ he cut himself off to look over at Kayla.

“Two minutes pass 8:00,” Kayla answered with a look at her watch.

“First contact is at 8:00 and then two minutes later…” Jack frowned, looking at the Doctor for an answer.

“What’s it for?  What’s a paradox machine do?” Martha wondered.

“More importantly, can you stop it?” Jack questioned.

“Without knowing what it’s doing, a wrong touch and we could blow up the entire universe,” Kayla explained. “We’ve got to stop the Master.”

Jack nodded, and then frowned. “Yeah.  How do we stop him?”

“Oh, I’ve got a way.  Sorry, didn’t I tell you?” the Doctor smiled at the others, and if Kayla didn’t know him, she would have thought he was happy.

* * *

The Doctor, Martha, Jack, and Kayla edged their way into the bridge. As soon as they entered, the Master’s smile slipped off and was replaced with a look that closely resembled a child pouting.

“For as long as man has looked to the stars, he has wondered what mysteries they hold.  Now we know we are not alone…” President Winters was saying as they entered.

“If I can get this,” the Doctor started while holding up a key, “around the Master’s neck…cancel out his perception, they’ll see him for real.  It’s just hard to go unnoticed with everyone on red alert.  If they stop me…” the Doctor’s voice trailed off as he swallowed hard. Kayla took his hand and squeezed it, making the idea of him getting caught all the worse. “You’ve got a key,” he pointed out to Jack in a dry voice.

“Yes, sir,” Jack nodded. If they hadn’t been unable to move, Jack would have saluted.

“I’ll get him,” Martha vowed as well.

The Doctor shook his head. “One of you need to take care of Kayla.”

“If you’re caught, they’ll be nothing for them to take care _of,”_ Kayla snapped in a low voice.

_‘Our child, Kayla,’_ the Doctor said hesitantly, a dark grief filling their link. _‘Our child would survive us, and the Master with his hands on it…’_

Kayla swallowed hard, a wave of nausea hitting her at the mere idea. Sensing this, the Doctor rushed to add, _‘I won’t let him near you or our child, Kayla. He won’t be able to lay a hand on you.’_

Their conversation ending, the couple watched as the President greeted the Toclafane, the metal spheres that the Master was claiming to be friendly, and the Toclafane almost too predictably turned on him.

“You’re not the Master,” the first Toclafane said in a female voice.

“We like the Mr. Master,” the second Toclafane added in with an almost nod-like bob, it’s voice also female.

“We don’t like you,” the last Toclafane, and the only one with a male voice.

The President frowned, just not getting it and _clearly_ not seeing the Master’s smirk on his face. “I…can be Master, if you so wish.  I will accept mastery over you if that is God’s will.”

The third Toclafane actually snorted. “Man is stupid,” he spat.

“Master is our friend,” the first Toclafane giggled.

“Where’s my Master, pretty please?” The second Toclafane wondered.

“Oh, all right then.  It’s me,” the Master huffed as he stood up, though he didn’t sound as upset as Kayla figured he was trying to sound. “Ta-da,” he laughed while holding out his hands. “Sorry.  Sorry, I have this effect.  People just get obsessed.  Is it the smile?  Is it the aftershave?  Is it the capacity to laugh at myself?  I don’t know.  It’s crazy!”

The President turned to him, sending the man an annoyed glare. “Saxon, what are you talkin’ about?” he snapped.

All pretense dropped, the Master turned to the President and sent back a cold look. “I’m taking control, Uncle Sam.  Starting with you.” He turned, lazily, to look at the Toclafane. “Kill him,” he ordered.

One of the Toclafane followed through immediately, shooting the President with a laser that caused him to disintegrates. Chaos erupted, as expected. The reporters and the rich viewers stormed to the exits, only for the Master’s guards to take out their guns in a threatening manner.

Still against the wall, Jack, Kayla, Martha, and the Doctor pressed against the wall, not wanting to risk a stray person brushing them.

Watching it all, the Master laughed and clapped his hands. “Guards,” he ordered.

“Nobody move!  Nobody move!” The guards ordered, pointing their guns.

Smirking, the Master turned towards the camera still recording everything. “Now then, peoples of the Earth, please attend carefully.”

Kayla nearly ran after the Doctor when he rushed forwards, the only thing stopping her was Jack’s quick hand tug. She could only watch in horror as two guards grabbed her Bonded and forced him to his knees in front of the Master.

“We meet at last, Doctor.  Oh, ho! I love saying that!” The Master clapped his hands together as he looked down at the Doctor.

“Stop this!  Stop it now!” the Doctor yelled up at the Master.

The Master just snorted and looked up at Martha, Jack, and Kayla. “As if a perception filter’s gonna work on me,” he snorted. Kayla felt her blood run cold and her breath become more shallow as the Master’s eyes met hers. “Oh, and look, it’s the girlie, the freak, and your _pregnant Time Lady._ Though not pregnant for much longer by the looks of it. Tell me, Doctor, have you Bonded with her yet?”

Growling, Jack let go of Kayla’s hand to rush the Master himself. Not even flinching at the movement, the Master lifted some sort of device that looked like a bulkier sonic screwdriver and shot a _laser_ at Jack, causing him to the fall to the ground and die.

“Laser screwdriver, who’d have sonic?  And the good thing is, he’s not dead for long.  I get to kill him again!” the Master cheered.

Martha hurried to Jack’s side while Kayla did the same to the Doctor, not even flinching when two guards grabbed her and forced her to kneel as well.

_‘Kayla, what are you doing?’_ the Doctor snapped, his eyes trying to meet hers, but Kayla’s were locked onto the Master.

_‘Not leaving you,’_ Kayla snapped back. It had been their plan, for her to leave, should things go wrong. While she had agreed with it at the time, she had had no intention of following through.

Shaking his head in frustration, the Doctor looked back to the Master to see him watching them almost thoughtfully. “Master, just calm down.  Just look at what you’re doing.  Just stop.  If you could see yourself…”

The Master’s thoughtful expression dropped to one of annoyance. He turned to the camera and sighed. “Oh, do excuse me, little bit of personal business.  Back in a minute.” With that taken care of, he ordered the guards to release the Doctor, causing the Time Lord to drop to the floor.

“It’s that sound, the sound in your head.  What if I could help?” the Doctor asked from his fallen position.

The Master rolled his eyes. “Oh, how to shut him up?  I know.  Memory Lane!” He plopped down on the steps and gave the Doctor, and Kayla, a patronizing look. “Professor Lazarus.  Remember him?  And his genetic manipulation device? Did you think that little Tish got that job merely by coincidence?  I’ve been laying traps for you all this time.  And if I can concentrate all that Lazarus technology into one little screwdriver…But, ooh, if I only had the Doctor’s biological code.  Oh, wait a minute, I do!”

Jumping to his feet, the Master ran to a silver case and opened it, revealing the Doctor’s hand that Jack had brought into the TARDIS.

“I’ve got his hand!  And if Lazarus made himself younger, what if I reverse it?  Another hundred years?”

The Master pointed the sonic screwdriver at the Doctor. The affect was immediate as the Doctor screamed out and started to convulse on the floor. But another scream joined his, making the Master wince, likely from the noise, as Kayla slumped in the guards’ arms and started to convulse as well. Though she didn’t start to age like the Doctor was, she was still experiencing the same amount of pain.

Rubbing at his head, the Master grabbed a golden bracelet, etched with Gallifreyan, and walked over to Kayla’s twitching body and snapped it onto her forearm. Her body relaxed as she passed out, her head dropping in front of her and causing her hair to fall forwards. He knelt down in front of her, using his laser screwdriver to get a reading on her body. A smirk started to form as he saw the information.

“Somebody’s ready to pop,” he whispered to the now passed out Time Lady, but she never heard him.

Very, very pleased with himself, the Master casually stopped the Doctor’s aging. He knew that the black woman, the Doctor’s companion, was now wearing a vortex manipulator curtesy of the now-alive Jack.

“Doctor, I’ve got you,” he heard Martha say in a soft, sweet voice.

It was positively disgusting, and the Master would have to put an end to it. “Aw, she’s a would-be doctor.  But tonight, Martha Jones, we’ve flown ‘em in all the way from prison—”

The Master took great pleasure in seeing how Martha’s eyes widened, and the way she brokenly whispered “Mum,” when her family were dragged into the room.

“The Toclafane, who are they?  Who are they?” The Doctor asked, his voice ragged with the effort it took for him to get a breath out. 

The Master just gave his old friend a pitying look. “Doctor, if I told you the truth, your hearts would break.”

As the Toclafane came to eagerly asked if it was the paradox, the Master allowed his gaze to flicker over to the still sleeping Time Lady. If she hadn’t thrown her lot with the Doctor, he would have rather liked her. Even if she wasn’t _really_ a Time Lady, but a species turned, the Master would have taken so much pleasure from taking the last Time Lady from the Doctor.

Taking their child from them would have to do. From what his laser screwdriver had reported, she was about to give birth any day now.

There was an extra bounce in his step, an extra ounce of pleasure in his voice, as he watched the decimation of the world. He didn’t care when Martha disappeared, she would be easy to track down.

“And so it came to pass…that the human race fell and the Earth was no more.  And I looked down upon my new dominion as master of all and I thought it…good.”

And the best part was that there was nothing the Doctor could to about it.


	34. The Last of the Time Lords Pt. 1

It had been a long year for Kayla, Jack, the Doctor, and the Jones’ family. The Master had taken control of Earth and had ruled in as a dictatorship. He took great pleasure in laughing when he reported another city burnt to the ground, another massacre of people who had been heard talking about Martha.

He also took great pleasure in bringing up Kayla to the Doctor. He would smirk, watching as the Doctor flinched. The two weren’t able to communicate, the golden band now firmly placed on Kayla cutting off their mental link, leaving the two Bonded separated.

The only thing the Master really hadn’t taken pleasure was the whole business with the Time Tot. It hadn’t survive, the pain from aging the Doctor was too much for it to handle, evidently. That had not only anger the Master, but also made him wince in unwanted sympathy when Kayla had found out. That had been the only time that the two were able to touch each other, and the Master had taken the golden band off so that they could speak mentally as well.

It was custom, on Gallifrey, for a stillborn to be buried in snow. The Master hadn’t cared to ever figure out why, though if he were to guess then it would have to be because of purity or some other nonsense. He had allowed that custom to take place. He had stayed to the side, not bringing any of his guards along. Even if the Master was the first to admit that he was an evil man, the Master truly did not like seeing others in pain that _he_ hadn’t caused.

Seeing Kayla, and the Doctor, in a horrible shared pain from something that he hadn’t done, at least on purpose, made the Master feel ill. Ever since the child was born on Christmas day, Kayla had stopped fighting. She had always struggled when the guard brought her anywhere, always shouting after them her plans to kill them one day. She would stare at him with a certain pride in her eyes, her head tilted up even when forced to kneel. And she had led seven different rebellions. She had killed at least _four_ of his best guards.

But ever since the burial, she had stopped. She would allow the guards to move her, she would bow her head in submission, and she wouldn’t speak. She would have been the perfect prisoner, if her change hadn’t made the Master so uncomfortable.

He had tried to bring the fight back by killing Jack in front of her or by teasing her about the Doctor, but she hadn’t said anything, just stared at the ground. So the Master stopped trying. He withdrew and decided to watch, to see who would fill the void that Kayla’s spirit had made.

Unsurprisingly, it was the Doctor.

If Kayla had stopped fighting, then the Doctor had started. He would yell at the Master, whenever he was in the area, to let him talk to Kayla, to stop the control of Earth, to just end everything. Of course the Master didn’t do this, but he did feel himself start to engage more, to start to taunt the Doctor. He didn’t have the same way of making him feel as enraged as Kayla did, but it was _something._

Time marched on until it was the anniversary of the Master’s take over, and said Time Lord was beaming from ear to ear when he walked into the bridge. Kayla had been dragged into the room and had been seated in the furthest chair from the Doctor. The Master could see the pain in the other Time Lord’s eyes as he looked at his Bonded.

The woman was paler, thinner, her hair was limp as it hung around her bowed head. If it hadn’t been for the steady rise and fall in her chest, the Master easily could have believed her to be dead. He looked away from her quickly, not wanting to feel anymore pity for the woman.

He frowned as he looked about the bridge. Lucy was there, standing in a dress with her long blonde hair falling down her back, and there was a couple of guards around. Even though it had been a year, the Master didn’t want to celebrate. He winced at the realization. He was going soft!

Shaking his head, the Master grabbed a wheelchair and pushed it over to the Doctor’s cage. He watched as the other Time Lord, looking pitiful as an old man, dragged himself to the door of the cage, waiting for the Master to let him out. He did, but then stepped back so the Doctor would have to climb shakily into the wheelchair.

“Pitiful,” he sneered with a shake of his head. He pushed the wheelchair around the room, making sure the ride was as unpleasant as possible before they stopped in front of the many large windows.

“It's ready to rise, Doctor.  The new Time Lord Empire,” the Master took a shaky breath, a smile spreading across his face at the words. “It's good, isn't it?  Isn't it good?  Anything?  No?  Anything?” As he continued to not get a response, the Master waved his hand in front of the Doctor’s face.

The Master rolled his eyes as he remembered what would be bugging the Doctor. Ever one with a bleeding heart, the Doctor had found out who the Toclafane were, and it had broken his hearts, just like the Master had warned it would.

“Oh, but they broke your hearts, didn't they?  Those Toclafane, ever since you worked out what they really are.  They say Martha Jones…has come back home.  Now why would she do that?”

The Doctor lifted his head at the question and sent the Master a fierce glare. “Leave her alone,” he ordered.

“But you said something to her, didn't you?  On the day I took control,” the Master reminded, his thoughts flickering back to when the Doctor grabbed Martha and hissed something in her ear. He had been focused on Kayla at the time, but when he had reviewed the day’s events in his mind and he saw _that,_ he had stormed to the Doctor and demanded to be told.

“What did you tell her?” the Master asked.

“I have one thing to say to you.  You know what it is,” the Doctor said, his eyes flickering over to Kayla.

The Master rolled his eyes. “If you tell me, what you told Martha, Doctor, I’ll take that blocker off for good,” he promised in a sing-song voice.

But the Doctor just lifted his head up. “There’s only one thing I have to say to you-“

“Oh, no you don't!” the Master shouted. He jumped to his feet and shoved the wheelchair, taking great satisfaction when it hit the wall with a thump.

Though that satisfaction died when he looked over to see Kayla staring at him, her brown eyes flat. “What?” he sneered. “Something to say? Don’t like how I’m treating him?”

He was not surprised when Kayla didn’t speak.  Shaking his head, he turned to the rest of the bridge just as the PA announced _“Valiant now entering Zone One airspace.  Citizens rejoice.”_

“Come on, people!  What are we doing?  Launch Day in 24 hours!” the Master yelled to the Jones’ family. They were the janitor work force, and they were doing _miserably._ Honestly, the _Valiant_ wasn’t that big of a ship! 

* * *

It was 14:56, and Kayla was still sitting in the bridge. The guards were standing outside, but by the laughing she could hear, it was clear they were relaxed.

Placed back in his cage, the Doctor looked over at the brunette. “Kayla,” he called over to her. Their eyes met for a moment, but then the Time Lady looked away, wincing in pain.

“Don’t,” she pleaded in a soft, hoarse voice. She never spoke, and when she did it was only to the Doctor. Her voice had gone hoarse from the disuse. “Doctor, we can’t look at each other. The blocker…it hurts.”

At the whimper, the Doctor shook his head in frustration. “I’m going to fix this,” he promised.

“You’ve said that before,” Kayla pointed out. There was no anger in the reminder, just remembered sadness as the bitter memories played out in her mind of all the promises the Doctor had made about protecting her. 

The Doctor bowed his head, the guilt hitting him hard. He ran a hand through his hair, raised his head, and then cursed softly. “Kayla,” he said in a much more frantic tone, “Whatever you do, do _not_ intervene.”

_“Condition red!”_

At the yell from the PA, Kayla jumped. She looked over at the Doctor, her eyes widening as she saw that he was not the least bit shocked. “What are you doing?” she snapped.  Outside, she could hear the guards fall with a thud.

“Kayla,” the Doctor warned as Francine grabbed the Master’s jacket and threw it to Tish, who handed it to the Doctor as he was released from his cage.

Reaching into the pocket, the Doctor pulled out the laser screwdriver, aiming it at the doors as the Master stormed in, guards behind him.

_“Repeat: condition red!”_

The Master stared at the laser screwdriver in the other Time Lord’s hands and then at the wide-eyed Kayla behind him. Shaking his head, the Master lifted his hands in a surrender-pose. “Oh, I see.”

The Doctor’s hand wasn’t shaking, but his voice was when he spoke. “I told you.  I have one thing to say,” he pressed down on the button…and then his mouth dropped open as nothing happened.

The Master, smirking, leaned over to what used to be his friend. “Isomorphic controls,” he informed the man as he took the laser screwdriver and held it in the air tauntingly.  “Which means they only work for me.  Like this.”

Whirling around, he shot the table that Kayla was sitting at, just grazing her hand and causing her to gasp out. “Say sorry!”

Kayla stared down at the burn on her hand, her eyes wide. The Doctor started to drag himself over, but another shot, more than grazing her hand this time, made the Time Lord pause and looked back at the Master.

“I said: Say. Sorry!”

Kayla looked at the Master, her eyes a distant, flat brown that made even the psychotic Time Lord pause. He winced slightly, and looked over at the guards. “Take them away,” he snapped.

The guards did as they were told, dragging the two Jones’ women out, leaving just the Time Lords and the Time Lady. The last of Gallifrey.

Shaking his head, the Master grabbed the Doctor and hauled him into the wheelchair. “There you go, Gramps,” he said in almost kind voice.

He sat down on the table and turned to look at Kayla. “Give me your hand,” he ordered.

Kayla obediently held out her hand, wincing as the Master’s fingers ghosted the two wounds from his laser.

The Master tutted. “All you had to do was say sorry,” he chastised. “Would that have been so hard?”

Not expecting an answer, the Master dropped the hand and waited expectantly for the Doctor to hesitantly drag himself over to his Bonded.

“Well?” he snapped. “I know you’re _dying_ to and we haven’t got all day.”

Keeping an eye on the Master, the Doctor took Kayla’s injured hand gently and then ghosted his other hand over it. As soon as his hand had passed over a sport, the injury was gone. Kayla gratefully took her now unblemished hand and rotated it to turn over in the Doctor’s hand so that she could squeeze it.

The Master sneered. “I remember the days when the Doctor, oh, that famous Doctor, was waging a time war.  Battling Sea Devils and Axons.  He sealed the rift at the Medusa Cascade single-handed.” He eyed the Doctor critically, taking in his haggard appearance. “Of course, for such a peace-loving man it’s ironic with who he Bonded with. The Time Agent with the most hits ever, an achievement that reaches the millions.”

The Master smirked as he saw Kayla flinch out of the corner of his eye. He had gotten most of the information from Kayla herself when she had been yelling after the guards.

“Look at the two of them now,” the Master sighed, shaking his head in mock sympathy. “Stealing screwdrivers and a mute. How did they ever come to this? Oh yeah.  Me!”

“I just need you to listen,” the Doctor pleaded.

The Master rolled his eyes. “No, it's my turn.  Revenge!  Best served hot.  And this time…It's a message for Miss Jones.”

* * *

The cameras were set up that evening, pointing straight at where the Doctor and Kayla were force to kneel, side-by-side. The Master had taken off the blocker on Kayla’s arm, which meant he was going to do something _painful._ The Doctor had tried to block himself off as much as possible, but after being apart mentally for so long, the mental link was greedy and was fighting him.

He looked over at Kayla out of the corner of his eyes to see her head tilted down, hiding her face from the camera by her hair.

_‘Kayla…it’s-‘_

_‘No, Doctor, it’s not going to be alright,’_ Kayla cut him off, her voice soft and tired despite the interruption. _‘The Master is going to torture us. By the way he’s palming his laser screwdriver it’s going to hurt.’_ Kayla paused and then shook her head very slightly. _‘At least this time I don’t have a child to lose.’_

_‘Kayla, when time returns back to normal you’ll still-‘_

_‘I know,’_ Kayla blinked fiercely, feeling the unwanted burning sensation of tears gathering in her eyes. _‘But I’ve mourned our son for the past year, Doctor. Even when everything is reset, I will still carry that pain.’_

_‘This time I’ll be there to help that burden,’_ the Doctor vowed.

A sudden bright light hit them, causing Kayla to look up, wincing. Behind it, she could faintly make out a man hold up a three…a two…a one…

“My people.  Salutations on this, the eve of war,” the Master greeted, stepping in front of the camera. “Lovely woman.  But I know there's all sorts of whispers down there. Stories of a child, walking the Earth, giving you hope.”

Sneering at the last concept, the Master stepped to the side to reveal to the camera Kayla and the Doctor. “But I ask you…how much hope have these two got?” He turned his head, looking away from the camera to the Doctor. “Say hello, Gandalf and Mute.” When none came, he shook his head and frowned in mock disappointment before looking back to the camera. “He’s not _that_ old but he's an alien with a much greater lifespan than you stunted, little apes. So is she, for that matter. They’re _Bonded,_ a word that your minds can’t possibly understand. It links them physically and _mentally._ So if I were to do this – “

Pausing in his speech, he went over to Kayla and slapped her _hard._ Her head jerked from the force, her lip splitting open. Next to her, the Doctor seemed to stop breathing at the contact, and only started breathing once Kayla had moved her head back to where it had been positioned.

Looking put-out that there hadn’t been more of a display in their bond, the Master turned back to the camera. “It’s a bit gross, really – the age gap, that is. What if it showed?  What if I suspend your capacity to regenerate?  All 900 years of your life, Doctor.  What if we could see them?”

Making sure to step off to the side so that the couple could be seen clearly, the Master pointed the laser screwdriver at the Doctor and started to age him like he had done exactly a year ago.

And as the pain caused the Doctor to writhe, the pain also affected Kayla and she too, exactly like a year ago, was forced to experience the same agony that the Doctor was. The two were on the floor, the Doctor shrinking from the aging while Kayla stayed the same, making sure _everyone_ got a good look at what type of pain the two were feeling.

Because Kayla, who had gone through all the training and then some with the Time Agency, was _screaming._

A bit earlier then the Master had planned, he turned the laser screwdriver off and walked over to the two. He first placed the golden blocker on Kayla, who passed out as soon as the connection was cut off. He frowned, genuinely this time, as he noticed that both her arms had to pulled out of their socket. He would have to fix that.

Turning to the Doctor, the Master pulled off the jacket and stepped aside, allowing the camera to get a close shot of the large, domed head that peered out of the Doctor’s collar, it’s large brown eyes blinking.

“Received and understood, Miss Jones?” The Master asked, and the camera cut off.

Shaking his head, the Master came back to the Doctor and Kayla. “I got the cage for you this morning,” he informed the man brightly. He picked him up and deposited him into a tiny little bird cage, which the Doctor was able to stand up and move about in.

With the cage locked, the Master walked over to Kayla and squatted down next to her. “I’m going to need someone else to help with this,” he groaned with a shake of his head.

With the launch coming up just tomorrow, he didn’t have time to work on fixing Kayla’s injuries, but he needed her in good condition. The Time Agency had a heavy price on her head and they had agreed to partner with him, sending their best agents to him, in exchange for Kayla. They had said that they wanted her in ‘good condition’ but also implied that said condition would be changed very quickly.

After all, the Time Agency was known even to Gallifrey about their harsh punishments.

* * *

Kayla woke with a jerk to find herself in a cell. She sat up and winced, feeling the soreness in her body. Her arms especially made tears nearly jump to her eyes. Closing her eyes, she counted silently to ten…and then to fifteen…and finally she counted to twenty. By the time she was finished, she had pushed the pain to a far, dark corner in her mind that was already filled with countless other times of torture. Comparing what the Master had done was almost laughable.

Shaking her head, she got up from the bed she was lying in, feeling her limbs protest. Pushing that away, she walked to the door and looked out, seeing a guard standing on either side. She didn’t speak, instead choosing to listen to see if she could find out if anything was going on in the rest of the ship.

“The Master is on his way down,” One of the guards said.

The other guard let out a slow, long breath. “Someone needs to wake her up,” he pointed out, his tone making it clear that the _someone_ to wake Kayla up would not be him.

“Someone should,” the other guard agreed in the same tone.

Kayla huffed and made a noise at the door, making the both the guards jump almost comically. They looked over at her, waiting for her to speak before one of them sighed.  He’s coming soon. Go sit back down,” he ordered.

Rolling her eyes, Kayla sat down on her bed and counted in her head, waiting for the Master. He was taking his sweet time, but she soon heard his footsteps approaching, as well as a clanging noise. Getting to her feet, she stood in the center of the cell to greet the Master. When she arrived, her hearts dropped as she saw that the Master was holding a bird cage which had the shrunken head of the Doctor peering out at her.

“How about a meeting?” the Master asked cheerfully, his face practically glowing at the horrified look at Kayla’s. “Launch day is tomorrow!”

* * *

Kayla had hated every moment the Master had led Kayla via her forearm to the conference room. She could hear the bird cage clinking back and forth and she winced as the Master, most likely purposefully, knocked it into some of the walls. She didn’t say anything, though. Instead, she held her head high and kept her mouth close as the Master yanked her sore arm and pointed at a chair pulled up to the conference table.

“Sit,” he ordered.

For a moment, Kayla thought about protesting against the tone he used, how he treated her like a dog. But then she looked down, ghosted her hand across her stomach, and remembered the pain from the last time she had protested.

So she sat down, watching silently as the Master placed the bird cage roughly onto the table and sent her an annoyed look.

“Are you going to be silent for the rest of your life?” the Master asked, demanded really.

Kayla didn’t answer, which made the Master shake his head. “I’m sure the Time Agency will get _something_ out of you.”

Kayla stared at the Master, her mouth falling open as what he had said hit her. She shook her head quickly, her eyes flickering over to the Doctor who looked just as horrified.

“Oh yes,” the Master responded, gloating. “After we launch, I have an agreement with the Time Agency. They’ll give me their top agents and I give you them.”

Kayla swallowed hard. She bit her lip, struggling not to speak. She looked over to the Doctor, only to see him nodding, mouthing at her.

She looked down at her hands, closed her eyes, and then looked up at the Master and snapped, “ _I’m_ their best.”

The Master raised an eyebrow. “Speaking again, are you?” he asked in a would-be casual voice, if Kayla hadn’t been able to see his eyes. They were flashing with excitement. “Tell me how you would be useful to me?”

“Unlike the Time Agency, I won’t kill you to without you knowing it,” Kayla shrugged. “The Time Agents will sooner kill you then help you.”

The Master seemed to consider that. “We're opening up a rift in the Braccatolian space.  They won't see us coming. All those civilizations will soon be a part of my own little empire. Do you really want to _help_ with that?”

Kayla shook her head. “God no. But you’re better than the Time Agents.”

The Master nodded. “I will…consider it,” he decided. “When they come in two days and if you best them, I will know who to pick.”

He turned to the Doctor, smirking. “Kinda scary,” he commented.

The Doctor shook his head. “Then stop,” he pointed out, his voice weak.

“Once the empire is established and there's a new Gallifrey in the heavens, maybe then… it stops. The drumming.  The never-ending drumbeat. Ever since I was a child.  I looked into the vortex.  That's when it chose me.  The drumming, the call to war.  Can't you hear it?  Listen, it's there now.  Right now.  Tell me you can hear it, Doctor.  Tell me.”

“It’s only you,” the Doctor replied, his expression one of pain as he looked at his old friend.

“Good,” the Master admitted, rubbing at his head.

The door to the conference room entered, and one of the spheres entered and flew towards the Master, bobbing up and down in what could almost be described as giddy.

“Tomorrow, the war.  Tomorrow we rise.  Never to fall,” it said gleefully.

The Master pointed at the sphere, turning to the Doctor with an almost crazed expression. “You see?  I'm doing it for them!  You should be grateful!  After all, you love them.  So very, very much.”

He took a seat, breathing hard. “I took Lucy to Utopia.  A Time Lord and his human companion.  I took her to see the stars. Trillions of years into the future.  To the end of the universe,” the Master explained. “All of it dying. _Everything_ was dying. The whole of creation was falling apart.”

The Master shook his head. “You should have seen it, Doctor.  Furnaces, burning.  The last of humanity screaming at the dark. All that human invention that had sustained them across the eons.  It all turned inwards.  They cannibalized themselves.”

“We made ourselves so pretty,” the sphere put in.

“Regressing into children.  But it didn't work.  The universe was collapsing around them.”

“The paradox machine,” Kayla breathed softly. She shook her head, the horror hitting her. “You _tainted_ the TARDIS so that those – those _things_ – could come back and kill their past.”

The sphere, picking up on the note of aggression in her voice, started to bob towards her, but the Master held up his hand and it stopped.

“My masterpiece,” he corrected. “A living TARDIS, strong enough to hold the paradox in place, allowing the past and the future to collide in infinite majesty.”

“But you're changing history.  Not just Earth, the entire universe,” the Doctor pointed out.

“I'm a Time Lord.  I have that right,” the Master protested.

“Why come to just destroy?” Kayla asked. “It’d be better to come back and take-over peacefully, no one would notice before it’s too late.”

The sphere seemed to pause at her words, but then just replied back with, “Because it’s fun!”

The Master smiled. “Human race.  Greatest monster of them all.”

Clearly done with addressing them, the Master grabbed Kayla by the arm. “Night-night,” he called back cheerfully to the Doctor. “And to your cell for you,” he said to Kayla. “If this partnership between you and I goes well, I’ll upgrade your living arrangements.”

Kayla did not reply, her mind too filled with the horror of the partnership that she had made. If the Doctor’s plan didn’t work, then Kayla would have to sit there, smile, and _protect_ the Master. She nearly gagged at the thought and looked over at him out of the corner of her eye, picking out all the weak spots – all the ways she would kill him as soon as possible.


	35. The Last of the Time Lords Pt. 2

It was late at night when the Master woke her up. Judging by the moon light shinning into her cell, Kayla figured it was probably about midnight.

She had screamed when he shook her and had grabbed his hand, nearly breaking it as she twisted it had he not flipped hers around and done the same, though he didn’t break the bone, just made her gasp out and force her to tilt her head up to look up at his face.

He had clearly only recently woken up as well; his hair was still disheveled and their were pillow lines and his face. Still, he smirked at her and said in a soft voice, “Let’s see how loyal you are.”

He had thrown her some clothes, telling her to meet him up at the bridge in ten minutes. Every minute late would mean another death to her father. He had then stormed out, leaving her to try and slip the clothes on as quickly as possible, uncomfortably aware that the clothes were nicely made and fit her perfectly.

She looked down, realizing it was a black sweatshirt and black jeans. The sweatshirt had a little front pocket with ‘KH’ sown into it. She shuddered.

He had dressed her up like a doll.

She did like the shoes though, they were sturdy, black boots that had a steel toe. Good for kicking Time Lords in painful places.

She pulled her hair back into a tight, high ponytail, and ran to the bridge with only 30 seconds to spare. She only just had time to look as if she had been waiting there for several minutes, barely getting her breathing in control, when the Master had walked in.

“Good,” he commented.

The rest of their time, which was spent walking from the bridge to the spheres, was in silence. Kayla walked uncomfortably behind the Master, acutely aware that this was only allowed because he knew that, should she try to kill him, the spheres would kill her just easily. And, he had gleefully informed her, if he died than the spheres had been ordered to destroy the TARDIS, which would not only kill all of Earth, but likely a majority of the rest of the universe.

So Kayla didn’t do anything to him, as much as she wanted to. She, instead, was a silent ghost that didn’t try to claw his eyes out when he turned and smiled at her, who didn’t break his hand – and all the rest of the bones in his body – when he grabbed her forearm and dragged her into a plane that flew them down to Earth.

When the plan had landed, Kayla walked behind the Master, silent, as he led her to a row of homes fairly close to the airport they had landed in. Had it been normal times, had Earth not been under the control of a psychopath, these would have been considered cheap housing, and anyone who could _wouldn’t_ live in them.

But now the houses were where everyone lived. They would sleep there and then leave to go build parts for rockets every single day.

“Martha. Martha Jo-hones,” the Master called, starting to walk down the rows of houses. The spheres started to circle around him. He paused and looked back at Kayla, nodding for her to follow. She bowed her head and did so, wincing as she realized that her friend would see her obeying this man.

“I can see you!” The Master nearly sang in a high-pitched voice. “Out you come, little girl.  Come and meet your master.” There was, of course, no response. The Master shook his head and pouted. “Anybody? Nobody?  No?  Nothing?”  He huffed and turned to Kayla. “Pick any house and use one of these bombs on my command,” he ordered, his hand outstretched with a sphere in it.

Kayla took the sphere and palmed it, feeling the heat waving off it. She bit her lip, hoping that the Master wouldn’t say _her_ name when he tried to taunt Martha out with the threat of the bombs. But he did.

“Even _Kayla_ agrees with me, Martha. And if you don’t come out then she’ll blow up a house. I'll give the order unless you surrender.  Ask yourself—what would the Doctor do?”

The words did the trick, something Kayla was grateful for. But any joy fell when she saw the betrayed and pained look on Martha’s face as she looked over to her when she walked out. The expression changed to one of anger and she sent Kayla a glare before she turned her attention to the Master, her head held high.

“On yes!”  the Master cheered, clapping. “Oh, very well done!  Good girl!  He trained you well.” He held up a hand, pausing Martha. “Bag.  Give me the bag. No, stay there.  Just throw it.” Glaring, Martha took her pack off and threw it at the Master’s feet. He stepped to the side and waved his hand at Kayla, causing the brunette to step forwards. Martha frowned as she saw him pass off some little object.

“Destroy it,” he ordered. Kayla raised the laser screwdriver and fired at the bag, causing it to burst into flames and ruin anything that had been inside of it.

The Master smirked. “Now, kill her.”

Kayla tilted her head, making a shiver run up Martha’s spine. She could see this cold, calculating look in Kayla’s eyes, and the way the brunette was staring at her made her feel like a piece of meat. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise, for it was clear what side Kayla was _truly_ on, when Martha saw the laser screwdriver pointed at her face. She closed her eyes, prepared…

“No!” the scream made everyone jump. A man in scruffy clothes that Martha recognized as Tom ran into the street, a gun in his hand that he was pointing at Kayla.

There was a shot from the laser screwdriver still in Kayla’s hand and Martha could only watch in horror as Tom fell, murdered by Kayla.

The Master laughed, giving Kayla an appreciative look. “I can see this partnership will work out splendidly,” he remarked. Kayla held out the laser screwdriver wordlessly, but the Master shook his head. “It’s yours, I have extras.”

He stepped in front of Kayla, forcing Martha to glare at him. He took out from his pocket a laser screwdriver and pointed it at her, about to kill her. Martha tilted her head up and her eyes closed once more when the Master made a thoughtful humming noise.

“But you…when you die, the Doctor should be witness, hm?” He nodded, inhaling deeply. “Almost dawn, Martha.  And planet Earth marches to war.”

* * *

_“Citizens of Earth, rejoice and observe.”_

The conference room door opened, making Kayla stiffen. After they had arrived back from Earth, Martha in tow, Kayla had been ordered to the room to wait and observe. The Master had wanted her to try and find people who would make a deal with him, like she had done, but she hadn’t done that. She had watched the Doctor instead, just like how he had watched her back. It took a great deal of effort to not grab her Bonded and run to the TARDIS and try to fix it, but that wasn’t what their plan was.

When the Jones family came in and gave her deep, loathing looks, Kayla winced. It seemed that word had gotten around about her deal with the Master, and by the way they glared at her they were not pleased. But she hardly knew them, she didn’t care what they thought of her.

When Jack came in and refused to even look at her, Kayla felt sick. She looked over at him helplessly, begging him with every fiber of her being to see that she did _not_ want this role, that she was trying to con the Master like they used to do. She looked over at the Doctor, hoping he could somehow get across to Jack, but he shook his head, and Kayla’s bowed hers.

It was all part of the plan for her to be there, to make sure that the Master didn’t kill Martha until the right time. She just wished everyone else had been told as well.

And now the Master had stepped into the room, Lucy trailing behind him in a low-cut, deep red ballgown. The Master didn’t pay her any attention, allowing her to wander aimlessly around the room while he took his place on the highest position in the conference room, up two steps. He smirked down at them, taking in the little band of prisoners, guards, and Kayla.

Thankfully, he didn’t have time to gloat at them, because the door opened again and two guards escorted Martha Jones into the room. She stepped forwards alone, approaching the Master with the guards trailing behind her.

A movement caught Kayla’s eyes and she looked over at Jack, seeing him take a small step towards Martha, but the guard next to him moved his gun subtly, making the immortal man step back into position.

“Your teleport device,” the Master ordered to Martha, motioning to the ground in front of him. “In case your thought I'd forgotten.”

Martha reached into her pocket and threw it at him. He kicked it to the side, not wanting to put himself in the vulnerable position that bending would.

He took out his laser screwdriver, palming it as he said his next order: “And now…kneel.” Martha did so, making the Master smirk.  “Down below, the fleet is ready to launch.  Two hundred thousand ships set to burn across the universe,” he reminded.

Turing slightly, he hit the comm. link, turning it on. “Are we ready?” He asked.

_“The fleet awaits your signal.  Rejoice!”_ the reply came from a man, his voice shaking.

The Master nodded and turned to Martha. “Three minutes to align the black hole converters.  Counting down!” At his words, a clock on the wall started to count down the seconds. The Master shivered. “I never could resist a ticking clock,” he admitted. He turned to another comm. and spoke into that as well. “My children, are you ready?”

The reply came from the billions and billions of spheres that were floating above Earth in preparation. _“We will fly and blaze and slice!  We will fly and blaze and slice!”_

Very, very pleased, the Master turned to address Martha and the rest of the room. “At zero, to mark this day, the child, Martha Jones, will die.  Ha, my first blood.  Ha, any last words?  No?” He shook his head and looked over at the Doctor in his cage. “Such a disappointment, this one. Kayla would have cursed me in at least two different languages while trying to kill me.” He paused, and then smiled. “Did I forget to mention that she killed for me last night. Some stupid human trying to play hero and she just killed him.” He gave Kayla a smile that made her skin crawl. “Very loyal to herself, she is.”

When there was no response, he huffed and turned his attention back to Martha. “Bow your head.  And so it falls to me, the Master of all, to establish from this day, a new order of Time Lords!  From this day forward-“ he paused, frowning as Martha started to laugh. “What?  What's so funny?”

“A gun?” Martha asked, starting to laugh even more.

“What about it?” the Master asked, shaking his head.

“A gun in four parts?” Martha pressed, starting to smile.

“Yes, and I destroyed it,” the Master pointed out slowly, wondering if Martha had gone insane.

“A gun in four parts scattered across the world?  I mean, come on.  Did you _really_ believe that?”

The Master stared and then looked at Kayla, only to see her smiling, beaming really. “What does she mean?” he snapped.

Kayla just smirked at him. “As if the Doctor would _ever_ ask anyone to kill.”

The Master frowned, looking over to see the man blinking at him. Kayla did have a point there, it was very unlike him. “Oh, well, it doesn't matter.  I've got her exactly where I want her,” he said quickly, motioning at her position in front of him.

Martha just shook her head. “But I knew what Professor Docherty would do.  The Resistance knew about her son. I told her about the gun, so she'd get me here.  At the right time.”

“Oh,” the Master frowned, starting to appear worried by the extent that Martha had gone to get there. But he quickly shook his head. “But you’re still gonna die!”

“Don't you wanna know what I was doing?  Travelling the world?” Martha asked.

The Master nodded. “Tell me,” he ordered.

“I told a story, that's all.  No weapons, just words.  I did just what the Doctor said.  I went across the continents all on my own.  And everywhere I went, I found the people, and I told them my story. I told them about the Doctor. And I told them to pass it on, to spread the word so that everyone would know about the Doctor.”

The Master shook his head, sneering. “Faith and hope? Is that all?” he asked, incredulous. The gun idea had actually been good, had actually made him scared. This story hour plan with Martha Jones just made him want to laugh.

“No, ‘cause I gave them an instruction.  Just as the Doctor said,” the Martha corrected, getting to her feet. “I told them that if everyone thinks of one word, at one specific time—”

“Nothing will happen!  Is that your weapon?!  Prayer?!” the Master interrupted, looking around the room to see all the prisoners just smiling at Martha, clearly knowing what she was talking about. Even Kayla had a small smile on her face, something that made the Master grow even angrier. She had tricked him, she had to have.

“Right across the world.  One word, just one thought, at one moment…but with 15 satellites!” Martha finished, not letting the Master’s interruption stop her.

The Master blinked. “What?”

“The Archangel Network,” Kayla supplied.

Martha nodded, her eyes flickering briefly to the Time Lady. She clearly hadn’t given up any details about the actual plan, but she had sided with the Master, had killed Tom – she took a deep breath. She couldn’t focus on that now, she had to focus on the Master.

“A telepathic field binding the whole human race together, with all of them, every single person on Earth, thinking the same thing at the same time.  And that word…is Doctor.”

As the countdown hit zero, a glow formed around the Doctor, so bright that it blocked him from view.  The Master turned, whirling around to see the light and shook his head. “Stop it.  No, no, no, no, you don't!” He commanded fruitlessly, trying not hear everyone around him say Doctor. “Do-“ he started to yell, wanting the man to just stop everything.

“Stop this right now!  Stop it!” the Master yelled, a pleading note entering his voice as the light that surrounded the Doctor broke him from his cage and started to age him down, turning him back into the old man he had been for a majority of the year.

“I've had a whole year to tune myself into the psychic network and integrate with its matrices,” the Doctor said, his voice sounding the same as it had been when he was young. “You made a mistake cutting Kayla and I off, it only allowed me to focus on the network more.”

The Master shook his head, denying what the Doctor was saying. “I order you to stop!” he yelled, though he didn’t really know who he was ordering.

No one stopped, not even Lucy. The Doctor returned to his familiar, young face and hit the ground. “The one thing you can't do.  Stop them thinking.” The Master shook his head numbly in response, ignoring the mocking laughter from Martha and Jack and Kayla. He winced when the Doctor levitated upwards. “Tell me the human race is degenerate now when they can do this.”

The Master flinched back as the Doctor started towards him. “No!” he cried out, sending a laser at the Doctor that was easily deflected.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” the Doctor said in a soft voice.

The Master growled. “Then I’ll kill him!” He shouted. He pointed his laser screwdriver at Martha and her family, who had only just reunited, but the Doctor just waved his hand and the screwdriver went flying. Now unarmed, the Master shook his head frantically. “You can't do this!  You can't do—It's not fair!”

“And you know what happens now,” the Doctor pointed out.

“No!” the Master shook his head as the Doctor floated towards him, backing him down the stairs. “No! No! No!”

“You wouldn't listen.”

“No!”

“Because you know what I'm going to say.”

Stuck in a corner, the Master fell to the ground, shaking, and the curled up. He whimpered as the Doctor landed, walked over to him, and wrapped his arms around him to pull him into a hug. “I forgive you.”

“My children!” the Master gasped out.

The Doctor looked over at Jack, frowning when he saw him not next to his daughter like he should have been. “Captain!  The paradox machine!” He warned.

Jack nodded. “You men!  With me!” he called to the guards, and then frowned, looking over at Kayla. “You stay here!” he barked the order.

The Doctor shook his head, seeing Kayla’s expression break. He beckoned her over, trying to give a small smile as she walked over to him. But then her eyes widened and she cried out, “No!” She jumped forwards, grabbing the Doctor’s arm just as the Master used the vortex manipulator to take them off the ship.

* * *

They appeared on a rocky cliff, well away from the _Valiant._ They could hear the nearby shipyards’ alarms ringing.

The Master turned, facing the Bonded couple. He held out his arms. “Now it ends, Doctor and Kayla. _Now_ it ends.”

Kayla shook her head. “We’ve got control of the _Valiant._ You can’t launch.”

“Oh, but I've got this,” the Master held up a small device. “Black hole converter inside every ship.  If I can't have this world, Doctor and Kayla, then neither can you two. We shall stand upon this Earth, together, as it burns!”

“You’ll kill yourself for Earth?” Kayla asked, shocked that the Master would even go that far.

The Doctor nodded. “Weapon after weapon after weapon.  All you do is talk and talk and talk.  But over all these years…and all these disasters, I've always had the greatest secret of them all.  I know you.  Explode those ships, you kill yourself.  That's the one thing you can never do.” The Doctor held up out his hand, smiling as the Master smacked the device into it.

The Earth shook violently, causing the trio to fall to the ground. Seeing a chance, Kayla tried to reach out for the vortex manipulator, but the Master slapped her hand away, very much like a child would. The two grappled for the item, but the Doctor eventually just grabbed both of their wrists and they were sent back to the _Valiant._

They arrived just in time for the ship to rock violently as well. The Doctor, holding onto Kayla tightly, grabbed Martha’s hand to help her stabilize before she could fall over. The two had just enough time to share a quick smile before the Doctor yelled out: “Everyone down!  Time is reversing!”

Getting to the floor, the Doctor beamed over at Kayla, who was pressed up against him, only on her back. He saw the look on Kayla’s face, the way she had her hand on her stomach, and he smiled. They would have their son back.

When the ship stopped shaking, the Doctor was the first to get up.  He ran to the controls and looked at them. “The paradox is broken.  We've reverted back, one year and one day.  Two minutes past 8:00 in the morning.”

He looked over at Kayla, expecting to see her get to her feet slowly, heavily pregnant. Instead, his hearts broke as she faced him, her stomach…flat.

He ran towards her and took the blocker off her forearm. He could feel the mental link reach out but not wanting to wait for it to set up, he placed his fingers on Kayla’s forehead and closed his eyes.

_‘Doctor…he’s not…he’s not here’_

_‘I know Kayla. I know.’_

It had been a risk factor in the plan. Having a paradox in place weakened time, made it more likely to make mistakes. Because there hadn’t been a time tot when they had gone back, time had literally forgotten him.

_‘Our child, Doctor,’_ Kayla whispered mentally, her body starting to shake as she started to sob. He moved his hands from her head to hug her tightly, wincing as he could hear her sob into his jacket.

The rest of the room didn’t move. When Jack returned, he took in the two hugging and stayed back. He looked for the Master only to see his head bowed, actually looking upset at the couple. As if he felt Jack’s gaze, the Master looked over at him. “Does it surprise you, Captain, that even _I_ mourn time tots?”

Jack blinked, not even noticing that this was the first time that the Master had addressed him with anything other than ‘freak.’ He looked over at Kayla, seeing her step away from the Doctor, rubbing at her eyes furiously. She placed her hand on her stomach for a fraction of a second, and then she stiffened, turning to the Master.

“You didn’t run,” she pointed out in a low voice.

The Master nodded, his expression solemn. “I uphold Gallifrey traditions,” he stated.

Kayla closed her eyes, composing herself. “Thank you,” she said in a soft voice.  She looked over at the Doctor, knowing he wanted to deal with him how he saw fit. She couldn’t even think about calming the others down from killing him, so she took a step back and watched.

The Jones family was glaring at the Master, ready to rip him apart, but Jack was keeping an eye on them while the Doctor calmed them. She turned to look at the rest of the room and frowned, seeing Lucy just staring blankly at the Master. And then she raised a black object in her hand…

It took Kayla too long for her to realize that Lucy was holding a gun. By the time she had, it was too late. Lucy already fired the gun and the bullet would hit the Doctor. She ran, though. She ran as fast as she could and jumped...

Pain hit her, making her cry out. She had been shot a couple of times at the Time Agency, but nothing had felt like this. It felt like everything was on fire, like all her nerve endings were working. She vaguely heard the Doctor shout for them to move back, and then she felt the Doctor’s hand slide into hers.

_‘I’m here for you Kayla.’_

Those words rang in her mind as she, like a star, regenerated in waves of golden light. She was only conscious long enough to see the Doctor staring down at her, feel him push her hair away from her face, and then she passed out.

* * *

Kayla woke in the TARDIS feeling it hum as it flew through the vortex. She looked around the familiar bedroom slowly, taking in everything with new eyes. She felt a small smile break out as she saw the Doctor sitting in a chair next to her bed, his head propped up by his hand as he slept. She felt the mental link tug at him, making him slowly start to wake up. When he actually took in that she was awake, the Doctor’s eyes widened. He sat up in the chair.

_‘Kayla,’_ he greeted.

_‘Doctor,’_ Kayla replied back in the same way. She frowned, hearing the change in her mental voice. It was lighter, softer than her old voice had been. It sounded like bells.

Getting up from the chair, the Doctor sat down on the bed next to her and took her hand. _‘Your beautiful,’_ he informed her.

_‘Show me,’_ Kayla requested.

Nodding, the Doctor sent an image of herself to her.  Her hair was black, her eyes were brown, and even when smiling her face held a sense of sadness to her. But she could hear the Doctor’s opinions on each of those items.

_‘I don’t look like Jack’_ Kayla pointed out. It was the only thing she could think to say. In her last body she looked like her father, but now they looked nothing alike.

_‘He said you looked like your mother,’_ the Doctor informed her. _‘He’s been nagging to see if you’re awake. So has Martha.’_

_‘They forgive me?’_

_‘Of course they forgive you, Kayla. They understand you were trying to make sure the Master didn’t kill Martha too soon.’_

_‘Where is the Master?’_

The Doctor looked down at his hands, not answering for a long time. “Clive Jones, Martha’s father, killed him. I was trying to get you in the TARDIS and Jack was trying to explain what had happened and he just shot him. The Master refused to regenerate. I gave him his burial last night.”

Kayla took the Doctor’s hand and squeezed it. “I am glad you were able to do that,” she said in a soft voice.

The Doctor frowned. “Jack and Martha don’t see it like that.”

Kayla shrugged. “They’re only human,” she pointed out. She knew, by the expression the Doctor’s face, that that _wasn’t_ what he was expecting to here from her, but it was the only reason she could come up with.

Hating to see him look at her with evident concern, likely wondering how much the Master’s disdain of humans had rubbed off on her, she rushed to put in, “Not that that’s a bad thing. Humans are capable of many wonderful things, but humans also refuse to see the obvious. The Master was a close friend of yours, almost like a brother. Despite everything he’s done, his passing deserves some sort of marking just for that.”

The Doctor nodded slowly and leaned in to give Kayla a kiss when she pulled back. “What’s wrong?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Being around you, Doctor…it _hurts.”_

The Doctor frowned. “That might be an effect from the blocker-“

“No, not like that,” Kayla interrupted with a shake of her head. “Your appearance, your attitude, everything about you is a walking reminder of what we could have had. I…it hurts too much.”

“Too much?” the Doctor asked, his voice breaking.

Kayla could see through the mental link that he had guessed where this conversation was going, and the pain he was connecting it with made tears start to roll down Kayla’s cheeks. “I’m sorry Doctor,” she said. It was all she could think of to say, now that he could see clearly that he was correct in his assumption.

He pulled away from her, looking down at the blanket of the bed. “Will you block the mental link off?”

Kayla shook her head. “I promise I won’t.”

The Doctor nodded slowly. “Would you be okay with talking? I’m sure there’s someway we can arrange to speak with one another.”

Kayla nodded. “I won’t cut you out, Doctor. I just need time to heal, to process everything. I mourned our child for a year with the hope he would be here when I returned only to get that hope shattered. It’s quite a lot to deal with.”

The Doctor looked down at his hands. “I understand,” he said after a long pause. “I wish it wasn’t like this but I understand.”

“And you’ll still have Martha to come with you,” Kayla pointed out. “She’s a good person, she’ll keep you grounded.” The ‘without me’ that Kayla didn’t say hung in the air.

* * *

For a very long time, the two sat like that. They were close together, Kayla holding the Doctor’s hand, but it was clear to any outside perspective that they were as distant as anyone could be. They were almost like strangers.

Finally, the Doctor got to his feet to inform Jack of the situation. He left Kayla to pull on some clothes and to…to pack. Kayla watched him go, biting her lip to keep from speaking. She knew, logically, that she had made the right decision. Being around the Doctor was making her feel the pain all over again and while she knew that some would have decided to stay with their partner, to share the pain, Kayla didn’t want to do that. 

Pain always did things to her, made her go down dark paths. It was a left over from the Time Agency. Their belief that pain could be used to hurt others, to power you through unimageable acts, had stayed with Kayla. The last time she had felt pain like this, Jack had been and he had pulled her back until she was the woman that the Doctor fell in love with. She knew that, if she stayed with the Doctor, she would end up hurting him. He could never bear others’ pain and seeing her at the peak would be horrible.

There was also the part of her that was deeply disgusted by the darkness. Having the Doctor see that, to know that the few times she had gotten angry were nothing compared to what was coming, made her want to cower in shame. But Jack had already seen it, already knew what lengths she could go to.

Still, it was hard to watch the Doctor go. She forced herself to be numb to it, to only express the emotions she felt to Jack. Instead, she focused the task at hand. Packing clothes that fit her new style and body. It was stupid, frivolous and the perfect distraction.

She finally settled on a light red top and black jeans. She paused when she saw the boots she had picked up. They were the ones that the Master had given her. She didn’t know why, perhaps to have a reminder with her, but Kayla put the boots on. She tried to smile into the mirror in front of her, but it came out as small and sad.

She found a clip in a pocket of the jeans and she used that to pull her hair back, keeping it pinned away from her face and up.

The rest of the packing was easy, the TARDIS helping by offering clothes that would fit the style she had now. Her suitcase was soon packed and she rolled it down the hallway and into the console room. Jack and Martha looked over at her while the Doctor seemed too focused on the console to notice her.

Martha walked over first. She seemed surprised when Kayla drew her into a hug, but she returned it all the same. “Thank you, Martha. What you’ve done has been more than any companion could have.”

Martha pulled away and tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. “It was nothing compared-“

“No, Martha,” Kayla cut in quickly. “It was _everything.”_

Martha couldn’t help but smile. The Doctor hadn’t mentioned it to her once, choosing to push it behind him. While that was very him, it still made her feel appreciated when Kayla thanked her, when she acknowledged all she had done.

“Now I have to ask you one last thing,” Kayla said in a soft voice. “I’m leaving with Jack and…the Doctor will be alone if you leave. Stay with him, just until he finds another companion.”

Martha nodded slowly. “I will,” she promised.

She turned to walk back to the console and gave a smile to the Doctor, one that he returned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Jack walked over, taking Kayla’s new form in. The two stared each other, daring the other to make the first move. Finally, Jack smiled. “You conned the Master.”

“It was the Doctor’s idea originally,” Kayla said with a shrug. “I tweaked it a bit.”

The TARIDS shook, cutting off what Jack was going to say. They had landed. The Doctor walked to the doors and pushed them open to reveal the Pierhead Building in Cardiff. He ushered everyone out, closing the door behind them.

The foursome took in the view. People were walking about, families with children and dogs. Everything was normal and safe. It was a change, a welcomed and happy one though, from the Master’s rule.

“Time was, every single one of these people knew your name.  Now they've all forgotten you,” Martha pointed out.

“Good,” the Doctor said with a firm nod.

As if noticing a shift in the air, Martha and Jack took several steps away from the Doctor and Kayla, giving the Bonded couple some privacy. Kayla stepped forwards hesitantly and then hugged the Doctor tightly.

_‘Thank you for letting me do this, Doctor.’_  

_‘It’ll help you, Kayla. Why wouldn’t I say yes?’_

Kayla smiled at the Doctor. Of course it wouldn’t cross his mind to be selfish, to make her stay. If it made her happy, he would allow her to do anything. Even if what made her happy hurt him.

_‘Jack and I will rig up some sort of way we can call the TARDIS. We’ll both be able to see each other.’_ Kayla promised, stepping away from her Bonded.

_‘I’ll stay on Earth so you can contact me with the mental link for when it’s set up.’_

Kayla nodded. She looked back to Jack and Martha, who were doing their best to not look over at the couple. She took another step back and looked up at the Doctor. “I promise I’ll see you soon,” she said aloud.

The Doctor gave Kayla a small smile. “I look forward to it.”

He watched as Kayla ran to her father, not noticing Martha come up next to him. He watched, feeling so very alone, as Kayla and Jack walked off into Cardiff away from the TARDIS and away from the Doctor.


End file.
